Damned If You Do
by mushineko
Summary: About 11 years after the defeat of Naraku, a new threat has emerged and things have changed between Sesshoumaru and Rin. The story is now complete. I am working on a sequel.
1. Chapter 1 Memories

Just so you don't get upset, gerankel and I are best friends. She has said it is okay for me to write the story. I will try to get her to read and adjust the story. I'd prefer she wrote it anyway. She is the better writer!

Disclaimer: As I'm sure we all know by now, InuYasha and all other characters except those which my friend and I created, belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi. Hi'Iki, the Oracle priestess and any other OC belongs to my friend and I, mostly my friend Cynthia, aka gerankel, as well as this story concept. As fair warning this story will have various Japanese terms and phrases interspersed in it. I know many do not like this but in those cases where I used them I felt it necessary to the impact and flow of the story. I will provide a glossary for this story where needed. I dislike typing disclaimers for every part of a story that I post so consider this to be a blanket disclaimer for the whole of my story. Also, if you haven't seen the last chapters of the manga, SPOILERS!!

I am trying to improve my story, hopefully. It may take a while.

Flashbacks will be in _italics._

"Damned If You Do......"

Chapter1 memories

Brushing the dirt off her hands, Rin surveyed her work. The early morning sun brightened the rainbow of colors in the garden. She was pleased with her work. There was not one invasive plant to be seen.

"Rin, where are, ah, there you are." Daira looked at the garden and smiled. Daira was a gentle deer like youkai who looked like everyone's favorite grandmother. She always wore shades of brown, had long brown hair wore up in a bun and large doe brown eyes. "It's beautiful." She looked Rin over. "You'd better clean up child. You want to look decent for Lord Sesshoumaru."

Rin had frowned at the mention of Lord Sesshoumaru. Their relationship had changed recently. She'd been living with Sesshoumaru for about six years now. She had been delighted with her new home and was happy for the next several years. Rin remembered the day Sesshoumaru came to get her vividly.

'_Rin, I will not allow you to go with Sesshoumaru-sama unless there is a house to live in. I haven't taken care of you for the last four years to have you freeze to death following him around.' Kaede-sama was adamant about it._

'_But, Sesshoumaru-sama said I could go with him if I wanted.'_

'_Well, I guess you're gonna stay here then,' InuYasha didn't have much faith in Sesshoumaru._

'_Tells how much you know about your own brother!' The unmistakable whiny voice of Jaken the imp made them all turn around. Jaken and Sesshoumaru had arrived._

'_Jaken, Rin, Ikaso.' Sesshoumaru didn't wait for them; he just started to walk away._

'_But, Sesshoumaru-sama,' Rin said in small voice. ' Kaede-sama said I can go only if there is a house for me to live in.'_

_Sesshoumaru stopped and turned around._

_Kaede stood her ground, looking at Sesshoumaru defiantly. 'She needs proper care and shelter to keep her safe and healthy.'_

_Rin looked at Sesshoumaru hopefully. Without looking at Rin, Sesshoumaru gave a slight nod, turned and continued to walk away._

Rin remembered the surprised looks on everyone's faces as she left with Sesshoumaru and Jaken. At the time, she couldn't understand why they'd be surprised. Lord Sesshoumaru always provided what was needed. Of course, no one knew about the castle at that time. Now that she was older, she understood why they were surprised. Sesshoumaru was a loner and a wanderer, so having a home didn't seem to be high on his list of priorities. The fact that he had a castle in the mountains with in a day's ride on Ah-Un from the village was even more surprising.

But the happiness had changed recently. Partly by her own fault. She had become rebellious. She often questioned orders. And sometimes disobeyed. Sesshoumaru had told her to stay with in the castle grounds after dark, but one time she had gone out to look for herbs and had been too busy to come back early enough. It was dark by the time she decided to go home. She didn't see the tree root and tripped over it and sprained her ankle. Sesshoumaru had to bring her back. Poor Jaken bore the brunt of that. Rin sighed. She went to her room and got her bath supplies and a clean kimono. She was wearing her "get dirty kimono", a dark peach color with a design of dark blue wavy lines. She then headed out to bath. At the end of the garden, she turned to look at the castle. The castle was at one corner of a little valley, up against sheer cliffs on the back and one side. The front faced the entrance to the valley. The other side, where the garden was, a field led to the forest which continued up the mountain. In the forest was a stream and hot spring. It was a beautiful sight. This was where Rin was headed. She made her way along the path, enjoying the bird songs, pretty flowers and warm sunshine. The path led through the field and forest to the spring. The spring was hidden from the path, blocked by a huge boulder.

Rin put her things down on a rock, undressed, putting her kimono on the rock as well. She slowly slipped into the steaming water, letting herself adjust to the temperature. Relaxing and enjoying the heat, her mind drifted back into the past.

'_How did you manage to get this?' InuYasha demanded of Sesshoumaru._

_Sango and Kagome had wanted to see how Rin was faring, so they'd gone to visit. And to let her know that Kaede-sama had passed away._

_Kohaku had told them about the castle and they were curious._

_Sesshoumaru was sitting on the porch overlooking the garden. Rin was proudly showing Kagome, Sango and Miroku her garden. InuYasha was standing a few feet away from the porch. His voice could be heard in the garden._

_Sesshoumaru ignored InuYasha._

'_What business is it of yours how Lord Sesshoumaru acquired this castle!?' Jaken always wanted to show off to InuYasha. InuYasha ignored him._

'_You bastard, if you killed humans for this place…!'_

'_I do not need to explain anything to you,' Sesshoumaru said, turning to look at InuYasha. _

_Daira came out with a tray of tea. She set it down, glaring at InuYasha. _

'_Tea!' she called to the others. 'He didn't kill any humans, they were set free.' Daira paused as the others came up for tea. They were so used to the brothers verbal fighting that they completely ignored it. But the cause of the amazed look on InuYasha's face was one they wanted to hear about. _

'_The garden is amazing Rin. You've done a great job with it.' Kagome was impressed with the whole place. 'How did you come to this place?'_

_Kagome was a little more tactful than InuYasha._

_Daira continued her explanation. 'There was a terrible youkai who ruled here many years ago. We were slaves. When Sesshoumaru-sama came, he was challenged by the youkai, and defeated him. Those of us, who wished, stayed.' She looked at everyone before she went on. 'Some were human slaves.'_

'_What happened to them?' Kagome asked. _

'_They were set free because Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't like humans,' Rin piped up. _

Rin had to smile at that memory. For someone who claimed to hate humans, Sesshoumaru had a funny way of showing it. Rin thought about how Sesshoumaru had changed. It wasn't much, but it made a big difference. He was still the silent, distant youkai as before, but he had gotten more tolerant of humans. At least some humans. Rin knew Sesshoumaru would never be talkative, and not show his emotions much. But she knew he cared: not because of what he said, but what he did. He often did little things for Rin. One such time was the berry branch. They had been out on patrol and Rin had been hungry. She found a large bush with berries on it but couldn't reach the berries. The branch with the most berries on it suddenly broke and fell to the ground. Sesshoumaru had used his claws to break the branch, then waited patiently for Rin to eat before going on. Little things like that say more than words.

Rin sighed. There was one thing she did wish. That Sesshoumaru and InuYasha would get along. She doubted that would ever happen though. It seemed they couldn't be civil to each other no matter what. At least they weren't trying to kill each other. 'That's a step in the right direction anyway,' she thought.

Rin rubbed herself with soap, adding it to her hair. She spent several minutes working it into the thick ebony strands. As she scrubbed, she reflected on how things had changed between her and Sesshoumaru. Her own feelings for him had changed. She thought of the time that had changed their relationship forever. She had gone to the hot spring only to find Sesshoumaru already there. The memory made her blush. It was this encounter that made her realize just how much her feelings for Sesshoumaru had changed.

_It was about a year ago when this encounter occurred. Rin had decided to take a bath on this particular day. Since the spring is blocked from view by the boulder, Rin was unaware that someone was already there. She heard some splashing as she walked around the boulder. Stopping to take a peak, she saw Sesshoumaru in the water. He ducked under the water to rinse himself off and stood up. The water droplets glistened on his body as he walked to the shallow end. Rin blushed at the sight of the nude youkai. His physique was breathtaking. The water droplets seemed to make every part of him stand out. Rin gasped at the same time that Sesshoumaru turned and saw her. They stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. There was a look in his eyes that she had never seen before, a look of longing and hunger. She didn't understand the look or her own feelings and ran back to the castle. She was relieved when Sesshoumaru took off on one of his patrols without taking her._

Such a moment may have changed their relationship forever. Rin knew she had been rebellious and hard to get along with lately. It strained their relationship. 'Is that why Sesshoumaru-sama goes away sometimes and doesn't take me?' The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Rin sighed as she rinsed the soap out of her hair. She had always thought of Sesshoumaru as her guardian angel, quiet, distant, and dangerous, but still a guardian angel. He had never done anything to hurt her and was quick to rescue or defend her. Now she had different thoughts about Sesshoumaru. Thoughts that made her blush.

Rin had seen the interactions between Kagome and InuYasha, as well as Sango and Miroku, and heard some of the things they've said. Kaede had also taught her the basics on male/female relationships and families. She was able to make an educated guess about her feelings. She suspected she was in love with the inu youkai. 'How could you love someone who has no interest in you?' she thought. 'Sesshoumaru-sama isn't fond of humans, there's no way he'd ever love one.' This thought made her want to cry. 'Why did it have to change?' She sighed as she rinsed out her hair a second time to make sure all the soap was out. 'Maybe I should talk to Kagome.' Rin got out of the spring, grabbed her towel and dried off. She put on the clean kimono, gathered her bath things and made her way back. As she made her way back, she thought about Sesshoumaru. How he looked when he was engaged in a fight, resting, out patrolling the lands, or even in his "leave me alone mood". In any mood he always seemed distant and thoughtful. His goal had been to be the strongest youkai in the lands. 'He is the strongest. Strong, kind and handsome,' she thought to herself.

The castle was a beehive of activity, if you could call six servants, one retainer and one rebellious teenager a beehive. Daira made sure everyone cleaned the castle from top to bottom. Not that the castle was dirty, but because she wanted it perfect for when Sesshoumaru arrived.

"Where is that girl?!" Jaken demanded. Jaken had shown up early in the morning with the news of Sesshoumaru's pending arrival. "Sesshoumaru-sama will be here soon. All she does is cause problems!" grouched the little green imp. He saw Rin come up from the spring. "It's about time you showed up, you ungrateful girl!" As much as he complained about Rin, he really had become fond of her.

Rin awaited the arrival with trepidation. She had no idea what his mood would be. He had gone out about a week ago, to look into some dragon youkai slayings. The slayings had bothered him for some reason.

"What did Sesshoumaru-sama find out?" she dared to ask Jaken.

"Never you mind that now! You need to look your best! Go change, and hurry!"

Rin had forgotten she hadn't changed yet. She ran into the castle to change into her best kimono. It had a pale cream background color with a pattern of red flowers, dark blue fans and cranes. Rin hurried and changed, then went back outside.

Jaken and Daira were the only ones outside waiting. Rin went to stand next to Daira. She had mixed feelings about Sesshoumaru returning. They hadn't spoken much since the hot spring incident. Neither said anything about how they felt or what they saw that day, preferring to pretend it never happened. Rin, because she was embarrassed. Sesshoumaru, because his own feelings confused him. He didn't want to acknowledge them, to himself let alone anyone else.

It wasn't long before Sesshoumaru appeared.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, welcome back," Daira greeted her Lord. It was then that they realized he wasn't alone.

"Hi'Iki will be staying with us for now. Make sure he has a room ready."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," Daira hurried to comply.

"Rin"

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama" Rin kept her head respectfully bowed as she came forward to stand slightly behind Sesshoumaru.

"Rin, this is Hi'Iki."

"Such a lovely creature! It is my pleasure to meet you Rin," Hi'Iki bowed to Rin, a charming smile on his face.

_Cynthia said she liked what she was able to read, but was too tired to finish.. Please add comments on what I can do better. A few little notes here:_

_I'm not into the "bite marking" thing that other writers seem to like. There's never been any evidence of it in the manga/anime, so I won't use it._

_Any Japanese words will be added by Cynthia, unless I know them and can add the meanings._


	2. Chapter 2 Hi'Iki

Chapter 2 Hi'Iki

Rin tried not to stare at the handsome youkai.

Like Sesshoumaru, Hi'Iki had long flowing silver-white hair. Only it was waist length rather than nearly to his knees. He had sapphire blue eyes that smiled, even when he wasn't. On his forehead was a black dragon claw mark. He wore a white kimono, white pants and black boots. The kimono had a lagoon blue wave like pattern on the sleeves. The obi had a matching pattern on it. His armor was the most unusual Rin had ever seen. Wrapped around his body like a cloak was a black dragon wing. This wing was taken from a slain dragon youkai in Europe. A sword was carried in the obi. It was also unusual. It wasn't the Katana type like Sesshoumaru's. Hi'Iki's was a European sword, made from the fang of a dragon. The most unusual feature however, was that the blade itself was split, up to about four inches from the hilt.

On Hi'Iki's shoulders rode two little dragonettes. Kodo and Podo. Kodo was a black male and Podo was a white female. They were mates. These little youkai from the British Isles were Hi'Iki's helpers. They were curious little creatures with a knack for playing tricks on people. When excited, Kodo and Podo's blue eyes flashed several shades of blue.

Sesshoumaru led everyone inside. Rin followed behind Sesshoumaru, stealing little glances at Hi'Iki. As they entered the castle, the two little dragons flew up and perched on the roof.

Hi'Iki had been surprised to learn that Sesshoumaru had a human female under his care. He had known Sesshoumaru since they were children, and Sesshoumaru had always preferred to avoid humans. So Hi'Iki was curious to find out how this human female came to be in Sesshoumaru's care.

"Here is your room, Hi'Iki-sama," Daira came out of a room after making sure everything was there that may be needed. "How long will you be staying?"

"I'm not sure. Depends on how long it takes to find a suitable mate," Hi'Iki said, smiling at Daira.

As Daira went to fix some tea and a snack, Sesshoumaru, Hi'Iki and Rin sat on the mats around the table. Rin sat next to Sesshoumaru, Hi'Iki across from Sesshoumaru.

"Tell me about the dragon slayings," Hi'Iki was very interested in this information.

"Several have been slain in the northern part of the country. No one knows by whom."

"How was it done?"

"Every one was different. It's as though there were different killers."

"Any scent?

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "All scent was masked. Whoever it is, knows what they're doing."

"Hmmm." Hi'Iki looked thoughtful. "Sounds like something that happened in Europe. I was in a country called Briton and the only dragon youkai I met were Kodo and Podo. As far as they know, they were the only dragon youkai there for years. They think something either killed or chased off all the dragon youkai there."

"How did they survive?" Rin had tried to stay quiet, but her curiosity got the better of her. She liked the dragonettes and Hi'Iki, and wanted to know everything about them.

"They were on an island off the coast. The island was too small and stormy to support life, but big enough to hide two little dragonettes."

Before he could continue, they heard a loud screech from out side. They all got up and went to see what the commotion was.

Jaken was chasing after his staff, which appeared to be bouncing along the ground.

"Stop!" Jaken was yelling and chasing after it.

Hi'Iki started laughing when he saw that the staff had a small ferret at each end. One ferret was black, the other was white.

Jaken turned and glared at Hi'Iki. "It's not funny! That staff is important!"

Rin put her hand to her mouth to hide her giggle. Sesshoumaru just looked bored.

Before anyone could catch the ferrets, they dropped the staff. Jaken grabbed it and waved it around at the ferrets. "Meddlesome little pests! Take this!" But before he could do anything, the little ferrets suddenly became dragonettes and flew around Jaken's head. "Erg!" Jaken flapped his arms around, dropping the staff. The dragonettes flew over to Hi'Iki and landed on his shoulders.

"Oh! How'd they do that!?" Rin was amazed at the transformation. She knew about transformations, but hadn't realized the dragonettes were capable of it.

Hi'Iki smiled. "They're shape-shifters. As ferrets they tend to steal things."

Daira had come out to see what the fuss was all about. "Tea is ready," she announced. Everyone turned and went back in, except Jaken who was still upset about his staff. He held the staff tightly and kept a sharp eye out for those "meddlesome pests".

"So have you decided how you are going to find a mate?" Sesshoumaru asked as they settled around the table once again.

"Well, I guess I'll have to check all the available females."

"Why do you need to find a mate?" Rin hadn't intended to say anything, but again, her curiosity wouldn't let her stay quiet.

Both men turned to look at her. Hi'Iki gave her a charming smile, Sesshoumaru slightly narrowed his eyes. Rin's interest in Hi'Iki didn't set well with Sesshoumaru. It made him feel uneasy and he didn't know why. He didn't like the feeling, so he pushed it away and ignored it rather than analyze it.

"My Uncle isn't doing so well, so I'm to become the ruler of our lands. But we have to rule as a mated pair, so I need to find a mate before I can take over." Hi'Iki explained.

"Do you need a youkai mate?"

"A dragon youkai would be preferred, but a human will do nicely. I don't mind humans, unlike some youkai I know," he looked at Sesshoumaru and smirked. He didn't miss the slight look of displeasure on Sesshoumaru's face. '_There's something different about Sesshoumaru_' Hi'Iki thought to himself. _'I'll have to find out what_.'

Rin missed the look that passed between the two men. "So how will you know if you found the right one?"

"Oh, I'll know." Hi'Iki smiled.

Daira came with food and served everyone. For a few minutes, everyone was quietly eating. Dinner was hand picked wild rice with rabbit. Daira made everything herself. The herbs and spices came from Rin's garden. Rin had always thought it funny that Sesshoumaru said he didn't eat "human" food, yet would eat what she made. Of course, it was all wild or grown by herself, nothing that came from human villages. Rin had come to the conclusion that Sesshoumaru ate food like everyone else, just not food made by humans. He made an exception in her case, on the rare occasion she cooked.

After the meal, they relaxed by the fire-pit. Rin did some studying from books Kagome had given her. As she read, she half listened to Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki talk about Hi'Iki's travels abroad. He had been lots of places, China, India, Russia, Europe, a really cold place with lots of snow and ice, a place called The New World, Africa, and a place with really weird animals. From the books, Rin new the really cold place was The Arctic, and the weird animals lived in Australia. The New world was actually America. Rin never ceased to be amazed at what was in these books.

It was late and everyone turned in for the night. At least Rin did. Sesshoumaru usually went "patrolling" around the little valley. This night he had company.

"Rin's really pretty," Hi'Iki ventured. No response. "Intelligent too. She'd make a good mate." This time he got a response: a displeased look.

"She's not some human or youkai you can charm into going with you."

"The thought had crossed my mind," Hi'Iki considered Sesshoumaru's response. '_Ah, so there are feelings there for the girl. Interesting. I can see Sesshoumaru is going to need some help. _

They spent the rest of the night lost in their own thoughts.

Rin awoke to the sound of thunder. At least she thought it was thunder. But why would the sun be shining if it's stormy out? She got up to look outside. She gasped in amazement. Hurriedly she got washed and dressed and went out.

Hi'Iki was riding a beautiful black horse. The horse had a long flowing mane and tail, slightly wavy and "feathering" on its feet. It was beautiful to watch. The horse flowed over the ground with a high stepping gait. As she stood there and watched, Rin became aware of another horse. It was all white. The horse tossed its head up and down, as though to say "come ride me". Hi'Iki called to Rin to get on the horse. "Don't worry, she doesn't bite." Rin slowly got on the horse's back. She had never been on a horse before. Hi'Iki whistled and the white horse took off.

Rin yelped in surprise and hung to the mane for dear life. After a few minutes, she got her balance and was able to enjoy the ride.

Sesshoumaru heard the yelp and came to see what Rin was doing. He stood on the porch, watching. Rin was laughing and having fun with Hi'Iki. He got a strange unsettling feeling in his chest as he watched. He didn't like the feeling and as before, pushed it away and ignored it.

After a few more minutes of running circles around the little valley, Hi'Iki stops his horse. Rin's horse also stops and she slides off. Hi'Iki jumps off and slaps the horse on the rump. Both horses take off running and jump into the air, turning into the dragonettes.

Rin is astonished. "How do they do that?"

"They just do it. They have several forms that I'm aware of," Hi'Iki walks over to stand next to Rin as they watch Kodo and Podo chase each other around. "So tell me Rin, how did end up with Sesshoumaru? He never was fond of humans, even as children. I find it kind of surprising that you're with him."

"I think I was around six when I first saw Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin told Hi'Iki the story of the brothers' fighting, Sesshoumaru being injured and Rin trying to help him. "He has always been kind to me," Rin added. She looked at the ground, blushing.

"I think you are a good influence on him." Hi'Iki headed back to the castle. '_So the feeling goes both ways. Oh, this is going to be fun_,' he thought as he saw Sesshoumaru waiting for them.

Grinning as he reaches the porch, Hi'Iki draws his sword. "How about a sparring match? I could use some practice."

"Fine." Sesshoumaru unsheathes his sword and meets Hi'Iki in front of the porch. They move away from the castle, giving themselves more room.

Rin hadn't heard what Sesshoumaru said, but she could tell from his actions he was unhappy about something. He was in his "grumpy" mood. He got that way when Rin got her "period" as Kagome called it. Rin counted the days since her last one, 18 days. Almost due for her next one she thought. Maybe he could sense it. She sighed. Sesshoumaru would most likely go away for a few days until her period was over.

The clash of swords startled Rin, making her jump. Hi'Iki had decided to make the match a little harder by taking off their armor. They would have to be much more careful and aware so they didn't hurt each other. She watched the two youkai "fight". '_At least it's just practice_' she thought. Or she hoped, as she saw that Sesshoumaru was a little aggressive in his attacks. Hi'Iki easily fended him off, but even he noticed the aggressiveness. '_Perhaps I shouldn't pay so much attention to Rin just yet_,' he thought. "We need to do something about the dragon slayings," he said, to distract Sesshoumaru.

It worked. Sesshoumaru pulled back and went easier on his attacks. "What do you have in mind?"

"We need to search for the slayers."

"How do you propose to do that? No scent, remember?"

Rin watched in amazement as they quietly discussed their plans while lunging back and forth and swinging swords at each other. Occasionally they would lock swords and then push each other away.

"I'll see if Kodo and Podo can find anything."

Sesshoumaru looked doubtful. "And how can they find something that's not there?"

"You said any scent was masked. They may be able to get past the masking agent."

Sesshoumaru still looked doubtful.

Hi'Iki grinned. "Those two have more abilities than one might think."

They locked swords one last time. The "fight" ended in a draw, neither being able to beat the other. Sesshoumaru went to collect his armor, only to find that Tenseiga was missing.

"Didn't you have another sword?" Hi'Iki asked, looking around.

"It appears to have walked away." Sesshoumaru looked at Hi'Iki expectantly.

"How should….? Oh." Hi'Iki couldn't help grinning. "They do like to take things." He let out a piercing whistle. Kodo and Podo came bouncing up to Hi'Iki, empty handed, or rather empty mouthed.

"Bring it back!" The two little ferrets bounded away. A few minutes later they came bounding back, carrying a stick between them. They dropped it on the ground in front of Hi'Iki. Hi'Iki looked at Sesshoumaru, who had a frown on his face. It was hard for Hi'Iki to keep a straight face. "Try again." The little ferrets bounded off again. It took a little longer but they came bounding back. This time it was a staff.

"Hey! That's mine!" Rin came running over to get her staff. She picked the staff up. "You shouldn't be taking things that don't belong to you," she scolded the two ferrets. Hi'Iki's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, but looked at the little thieves. They bounded off once again.

"It seems they are making fools of us," Hi'Iki finally gave in to his sense of humor and laughed.

The ferrets returned once again. This time they had decided to bring back Sesshoumaru's sword as well as a smaller object. Sesshoumaru took his sword and the smaller object. "What's this?" He handed it to Hi'Iki. Hi'Iki turned the small object over, frowning. His sense of humor had completely vanished. It was slightly triangular shaped, smooth, rounded, and came to point at the top. The tip was very sharp. It looked like a deer antler or small horn.

Hi'Iki looked at Sesshoumaru. "I've seen something similar once before."

"Where?" Sesshoumaru sensed Hi'Iki's apprehension.

"The dragon I got this wing from," he pointed to his armor. "Europe. It attacked me and I killed it." Hi'Iki looked at the ferrets. "I'd like to know where they found this."

Note:

If you have not read/seen/or heard of the end of the InuYasha manga, SPOILERS!!

Cynthia and I are going with the idea that Kagome can still use the well, even though the Shikon no Tama was purified. We base this on the fact that she went back to InuYasha's time three years after the jewel was purified.


	3. Chapter 3 Trouble with dragons

Chapter 3 Trouble with Dragons

It was early when Sango went out to wash clothes. Unlike InuYasha's kimono, human clothes couldn't regenerate or clean themselves. So Sango was stuck with job of cleaning them. '_It might be easier to buy new ones_,' she thought as she scrubbed the clothes clean in a bucket. As she hung the clothes to dry over a rack, she noticed a woman walking toward her.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but may I ask for a drink of water?" The woman gave Sango a tired smile.

"Yes, of course," Sango said. '_She looks exhausted_.' Sango thought as she got the woman some water. "Have you been traveling a while?"

"Yes. I'm hunting dragons."

"Oh. I don't mean to pry, but why dragons?"

"My family was attacked by dragons."

"I'm sorry. What happened to your family?" Sango's sympathies went out to the woman.

"My mother and father were killed. I come from a village of youkai slayers. We were able to fight off the dragons, there weren't that many. Many of us were injured or killed in the fight."

Amazed at the similarities, Sango introduced herself. "I'm Sango. I'm also from a slayers' village."

"Oh. I'm Hana. I didn't realize this was such a village."

"It's not. My village was destroyed by an evil youkai; everyone was killed except my brother and me. I'm surprised dragons attacked. They're usually solitary and avoid humans."

"These dragons weren't from here. They were different."

"Different how?"

Hana shook her head. "All I can remember is that they were big, with big wings."

"How long ago did this happen?"

"About 10 years ago, I think."

"10 years!? You've been hunting them for that long?"

"No, no. I wasn't old enough. I had to go through training first. I didn't start out hunting them either. It happened about a year ago. I found a dead oriental dragon. The way it had been killed made me think of the dragons that killed my parents. So that's when I went hunting."

"But you haven't found anything?"

"No. I will keep looking though."

"Before you go, join us for breakfast," Sango invited.

"Oh I wouldn't want to impose."

"Who's imposing?" The voice came from the doorway of the house. "What are you doing up so early, Sango?" Miroku asked.

"What do you think?" she said as she emptied the dirty water from the bucket in his direction.

"Hey! Oh, hello. And who would this lovely lady be?" Some habits are hard to break.

"This is Hana. She's a slayer, out looking for a good breakfast, not a pervert!"

"I didn't mean anything by that, Sango." He sighed. He will never be allowed to forget his past "womanizing".

"You never do." Sango led the way in the house. "Let's eat. Our guest is hungry."

They had just finished eating when Kagome came in.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company," Kagome smiled at Hana. "Miroku, InuYasha wants you."

"Come on Miroku, let's go," InuYasha appeared in the doorway. He saw Hana. "Who are you?"

Hana jumped back and pulled out her knife.

"What never met a hanyou before?"

Hana had been taught that all youkai and hanyou were dangerous and to be exterminated. She had never encountered any that were human friendly, and was somewhat confused by the way InuYasha acted. "I'm sorry," she said, putting her knife away. "I'm not used to meeting youkai or hanyou that don't attack."

"Its okay, Hana," Miroku said, joining InuYasha at the door. "He's harmless."

"I am not harmless," InuYasha growled. "Come on Miroku, we have work to do." InuYasha turned and left.

"I'm really sorry," Hana said to Kagome and Sango. "It's the first time I've ever seen humans and youkai, or a hanyou, work together."

"That's okay. InuYasha takes a little getting used to."

"How did you end up with him?"

"That's a long story. We had to team up to stop an evil youkai. This was years ago. InuYasha and Miroku now help out other villages with youkai that are causing problems."

Hana shook her head. "That's amazing. I would never have thought humans and youkai could get along."

Sango smiled. "I know it seems kind of strange for a youkai slayer to be friends with youkai, but we have learned that not all youkai are evil."

"I'll try to remember that. Thank you for breakfast. I'd best be on my way now."

"Where are you headed?" Kagome asked. She didn't know about Hana's search.

"I'm not sure. I'm searching for dragon youkai."

"Oh. InuYasha said he'd heard something about dragons. You can ask when he gets back if you like."

"Thank you but no. I really need to get going. Thank you again for everything." Waving, Hana headed back the way she had come.

"She reminds me of me," Sango said, watching Hana disappear. "I hope everything turns out all right for her."

"You like her."

"Mm. I can sympathize with her. The dragons she is searching for attacked her village and killed her parents."

"Poor girl." Kagome turned at the sound of yelling children. "Now what are they getting into?" Kagome and Sango went to see what the kids were doing.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Kodo, Podo, let's go." The little dragons perched on Hi'Iki's shoulders.

"Are you sure about this?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"If anyone can find any scent, it's these two." Hi'Iki patted his trusted helpers. Sesshoumaru looked at them doubtfully. "I will check with the local dragon clan and see what they have to say."

"Good luck there, Sesshoumaru. All right, let's see what we can find." Hi'Iki headed for the mountains. He would have to find a fresh kill sight to give Kodo and Podo something to work with. Sesshoumaru had given him some ideas on where to look. The mountains were the first place to start. Finding out where the horn Kodo and Podo found came from would be helpful. The trouble was, Kodo and Podo didn't always co-operate.

About two hours later, Kodo and Podo got excited, eyes flashing and chittering. They were pushing at bushes at the base of a tree. Hi'Iki squatted down to help them. Whatever got them excited was worth investigating. A few minutes of pulling branches apart soon showed the remains of a slain oriental dragon. Stuck in its hide was another horn. Hi'Iki examined the remains. He was certain this was done by a European dragon. To find these remains this close to Sesshoumaru's place bothered Hi'Iki. He needed to let Sesshoumaru know what he'd found.

"Come on you two, we need to go back. This isn't good." He stood up, with the horn in his hand. He sniffed at the horn, then the air. He could find no trace of scent, fresh or old. '_Sesshoumaru's right, the scent is masked. And if he can't smell anything, we could be in big trouble_.' Hi'Iki was worried that if the European dragons could mask their scent, they could show up anywhere, anytime and no one would realize they were there until it was too late. "Kodo, we need to hurry!" Kodo turned into the black stallion and Hi'Iki jumped on the back of the horse. Kodo took off at a full gallop. Podo took to the air and followed. Kodo's speed was faster than the average horse, so in an hour, they reached the little valley.

When Hi'Iki first glimpsed the dragon, he thought he was too late. Then he realized it was an Oriental dragon.

The dragon was quite large, a long thin body, short legs, and a "mane" around the head. Two long whiskers hung from the lower jaw and two horns swept back from the top of the head. It was a beautiful iridescent blue, lighter on the belly. The mane was a golden color and the tip of the tail was feathered, silver blue in color. The dragon appeared to be conversing with Sesshoumaru.

Hi'Iki rode up and slid off the horse. The dragon turned to look at him and the horse, turned little dragon.

"Who are you?" the dragon asked in a whispery, hissing voice.

"Sorry. I'm Hi'Iki." He bowed to the dragon. This was the ruling king of the Oriental dragon clan. "I have news for you, Sesshoumaru."

"We were just discussing the slayings."

"We found evidence of another attack, about two hours from here."

This news alarmed Sesshoumaru.

"So you see now, why we need your help," the dragon king said.

Sesshoumaru gave a short nod." Whoever is behind this is very clever, and has been able to mask their presence from everyone. It makes them very dangerous"

"I believe they are European dragons," Hi'Iki said. He showed them the horn and described what he found. "I wanted to warn you, Sesshoumaru. I need to go back and find out where these dragons are."

The dragon king gave Hi'Iki a closer look, sniffing him. "Ah, you are the white dragon from a different land. I have heard of your clan."

Hi'Iki nodded.

"It has been said that a powerful spirit dragon will arise to help us defeat a great danger." The king looked thoughtfully at Hi'Iki. "I think this great danger is upon us now. And the spirit dragon will be needed soon." The great king left with that thought.

Hi'Iki watched him leave. "Now what did he mean by that?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head.

Rin, who had been standing just inside the castle door, came out. "What happened? Did you find something Hi'Iki-sama?"

"Stay inside Rin" Sesshoumaru told her.

Rin frowned and was about to say something.

"He's right. You should stay inside. It's not safe," Hi'Iki said.

"But what's going on?" Rin was reluctant to go inside until she found out what was going on.

Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly. Rin could be stubborn sometimes. "There are a group of dragons killing other dragons. We don't know why. Stay inside."

Rin nodded and went back in.

"I'm going out," Hi'Iki said. "I need to find out what their plan is."

"Watch yourself."

Hi'Iki nodded. Since he himself was a dragon youkai, he was in danger of being attacked. Hi'Iki got back on Kodo and took off again. By the time he entered the woods, a white wolf was loping along side. As a wolf, Podo's sense of smell was much better than the dragon's. She might be able to track the dragons.

They went back to the place where they had found the dead dragon. Hi'Iki slid off Kodo and let the two dragons, now both wolves, search for a scent. The wolves were able to pick up a trace of scent and trotted off. Hi'Iki followed at a trot. The trail led higher up into the mountains. Whining excitedly, Kodo and Podo circled around a clearing. The clearing was empty. They crisscrossed the clearing, sniffing. Dragon scent was everywhere here. Hi'Iki walked behind the wolves, checking for any trace of anything. There were a few tracks in the trampled down grass. They belonged to European dragons. From the signs, Hi'Iki realized the clearing was being used as a bedding ground for the dragons. Hi'Iki knew the dragons would be back, and would discover his scent. He was in even more danger now. The dragons could just as easily track him as Kodo and Podo could track them. Calling to the wolves, Hi'Iki left the clearing, heading down the mountain. He'd have to find a way to cover his own scent.

During their conversation the previous night, Sesshoumaru mentioned something about a village nearby. Rin had told Hi'Iki about Sesshoumaru's brother, a hanyou named InuYasha. He lived in the nearby village. Rin had also mentioned a youkai slayer named Sango. She might be able to help make something to mask his scent.

As they headed down, Hi'Iki picked up the faint scent of dragon. Picking up his pace, he followed the scent.

He came out of the trees onto a trail. He nearly ran into a woman walking on the trail.

Hana jumped back, surprised by the sudden appearance of a person. A closer look showed the person to be a youkai. Hana automatically pulled her knife and attacked.

Hi'Iki, surprised by the woman, was more so when she attacked him. He dodged the first strike. The woman came at him again, clearly intent on killing him. The sudden appearance of Kodo and Podo distracted her, and Hi'Iki was able to disarm her.

"Why do you attack me?"

"I'm a youkai slayer," she said defiantly. She dared not attack, the youkai had her knife.

Hi'Iki sniffed the knife and examined it. It was the source of the scent he had followed. The knife had two blades, separated by a bone handle carved in the shape of a dragon. The two blades made the wings of the dragon. It was beautiful but deadly.

"Are you Sango?" His attention was on Kodo and Podo, now dragonettes. They were flying around, their eyes flashing brilliant shades of blue.

"Why should I answer you?" She had noticed his interest in the little dragons and wondered what had caused the interest. The little dragons were obviously with him.

"Where'd you get this knife?" He turned his attention on the woman. She wore a light blue kimono with a design of darker blue and pink flowers. Her obi was also a dark blue, and held a sword. She had another outfit under the kimono that Hi'Iki guessed was her fighting outfit. Long black hair tied up in a pony tail. She wasn't afraid and stood her ground.

"Again, why should I answer you?"

Hi'Iki held up the knife. "Because this knife comes from dragons I am hunting."

Hana frowned. Not what she expected. "That knife has been handed down in my family for generations."

"It comes from the Northern Mountain Horned Dragon Clan. They are in this area and killing the native dragons."

"Why are _you _hunting them?"

Hi'Iki gave a little smile. "Why should I tell you? You're the one who attacked me."

Hana decided she needed to be very careful with this youkai. He was very charming, not to mention handsome. She had never met a charming youkai before and didn't want to take the chance that his charm was a trap.

Kodo and Podo had other ideas however. They continued to fly around, and then swooped in toward Hana. She backed up a step, thinking they were going to attack. They stopped and hovered in front of her, eyes still flashing blue. Then they flew up and settled in a tree.

"What was that all about?" Curiosity got the better of her.

"They were checking you out," Hi'Iki smiled. "They like you."

'_Great, just what I need, two little youkai dragons who like me' _Hana thought. She remembered what Sango and Kagome had said. Not all youkai were bad. "So why are you hunting those dragons?" She asked again.

"They seem to be killing the native dragons."

"And you're hunting them because of that?" She looked skeptical.

"Why not?" Hi'Iki asked as he handed the knife back. "That knife was made from the fangs and bone of a Northern Mountain Horned dragon." He paused. "You never did answer my question."

"What question?"

"Are you Sango?"

"No. I'm Hana. Why do you want to know about Sango?" _And why am I telling him this?_

"I found the dragon's sleeping place. They'll pick up my scent and come after me. I need to find a way to mask it."

"You found where they're sleeping!? Where?"

Hi'Iki shook his head. "You don't want to go. It's a large group of dragons. One person can't fight them, no matter how good they are."

Hana frowned. He was right, even though she didn't like it.

"We could work together on this," Hi'Iki offered.

Hana looked at Hi'Iki thoughtfully. Going against everything she was ever taught, she nodded. She couldn't believe she was agreeing to work with a youkai.

Notes

Thank you to my reviewers

It takes me awhile to write each chapter, but I'll update as soon as I'm done.


	4. Chapter 4 The Invasion

Chapter 4 The Invasion

Chapter 4 The Invasion

The sun streaming down through the trees dappled the sunlight that filtered on the forest path where InuYasha and Miroku strolled on their way back to the village. As their walk and the morning progressed, InuYasha's mood worsened dramatically. The battle with the centipede had not gone as previous battles with that particular species of youkai had.

"I hate centipedes!"

"It did seem to be more powerful than usual," Miroku said thoughtfully.

InuYasha had had a hard time killing this particular centipede. It seemed to be faster and much more maneuverable than other centipedes he'd killed. If he hadn't known that it was an impossibility, he would have thought that the centipede had enhanced itself with a shard of the Shikon no Tama.

"Something wasn't right with that centipede" InuYasha theorized.

Miroku was set to agree with him when he was startled to a halt by the sight of a dead dragon lying next to the road.

The unusual discovery demanded to be investigated. Miroku and InuYasha cautiously approached the dead youkai. In their line of work they had learned to take nothing for granted.

Before examining the dragon, Miroku blessed it. As he checked out the scene, Miroku thought something was out of place about it. "Smell anything?" Miroku asked.

"No. Strange, I should smell something. And this is fresh."

"Yes. I don't sense anything either." They walked around it, but found nothing.

"I don't like this," InuYasha said. "We'd better get back."

They hurried home to make sure everything was okay there.

Kagome and Sango were drying herbs, keeping a watchful eye on the kids.

Earlier, the kids had found a lizard, and had been playing with it. However, it turned out to be a baby youkai, and when it got tired of playing, spines popped out all over its body. The seven children hadn't been afraid, but were startled. The oldest two, the twins, had shooed everyone back from the little lizard so no one got hurt. When Kagome and Sango came, the little lizard scurried off. The excitement over, the children went back to playing. Kagome and Sango had decided to add to their herb collection. Kagome had done some studying on medicine and wanted to be prepared should someone get hurt. So she and Sango had collected herbs and were drying them when the two men came back.

"Hey Kagome!" She looked up at the sound of InuYasha's voice.

"Has anything odd happened here, or did you see anything strange?"

"No, why?"

InuYasha told her about the dead oriental dragon.

Sango frowned. "That's strange."

"Yeah. This isn't the first one either."

"Yes, there have been other killings in the north," Miroku agreed.

"I wonder what's going on?"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Rin was in the front of the castle, practicing with her staff. She had gotten bored sitting in the castle, waiting for Sesshoumaru to come back from his patrol. She needed something to do. The staff had been a gift from Miroku. His thinking had been that she might be able to use it to protect herself, and not always rely on Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru hadn't said anything one way or the other about it, but he didn't stop her either. Sometimes Jaken helped, but today he was out patrolling around the area with Sesshoumaru, checking for signs of dragons.

As she practiced, Rin thought about Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki. She liked Hi'Iki; he was funny and made her laugh. Sesshoumaru was quiet and never laughed that Rin could remember. They were both kind, intelligent and strong. She had always been content to follow after Sesshoumaru. Until Hi'Iki showed up. Rin wondered if her desire to be with Sesshoumaru was not meant to be. Hi'Iki had shown her that there was more to life than following around a silent youkai. She found there was more she wanted from Sesshoumaru than he was capable of giving. She wondered if she should look elsewhere for companionship. Rin needed to decide what was more important to her, Sesshoumaru or being happy.

Sesshoumaru watched Rin practice as he patrolled the valley. She was very graceful in her movements. He was surprised to find that he was glad Hi'Iki wasn't here to see Rin. Sesshoumaru frowned. Hi'Iki had always been like a cousin to Sesshoumaru. They were good friends and Sesshoumaru trusted Hi'Iki. Yet when it came to Rin, it felt as though Hi'Iki were a threat. He didn't understand why he felt this way. He didn't like this feeling so he ignored it. Ever since Rin came into his life, he had slowly changed. She had taught him to care. This he understood and accepted. But lately, his feelings for Rin had changed in a way he didn't understand. He would either have to understand why his feelings changed and deal with that, or ignore them, and hope they would go away. Either way he would have to make a choice.

When his search came up empty, Sesshoumaru made his way back to the castle.

"Rin."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Inside."

Sighing, Rin put her staff away and followed Sesshoumaru into the castle.

The castle was quiet. Most of the servants were gone. Sesshoumaru had told them go. Only Daira stayed, and she was not her talkative self. Even Jaken was somewhat subdued.

"No one is to go out alone," Sesshoumaru said.

"But why?" Rin wanted to know.

"The dragons could attack at any time. I can't smell them, so there'll be no warning."

"Why would they attack us?"

"Association."

"Association with what?" Rin was confused about this whole thing with the dragons. She knew Hi'Iki and Sesshoumaru were worried about it, but she didn't understand why.

"Hi'Iki is a dragon youkai."

That made sense. "But why attack the dragons to begin with?"

"That is what Hi'Iki is going to find out."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

High up in the mountains, Hi'Iki and Hana were following a little gully. The scenery was peaceful, as the early afternoon sun sparkled on the little stream trickling along the gully. The peaceful scene was interrupted when Kodo and Podo panicked. In a flurry, they screeched and flew into the gully, flew back out and tried to herd Hi'Iki and Hana in that direction.

"What is their problem?" Hana asked.

Hi'Iki didn't say anything but grabbed Hana's hand and ran for the stream. They had just dived under a fallen tree when they heard the sound of flapping wings.

As the sound of flapping wings got louder, dirt and leaves blew around the ground. Hi'Iki and Hana peeked out from their hiding place.

In the small clearing they had just passed, a very large dragon was just settling down on the ground. The head and back were lined with sharp horns, the biggest horns growing to three feet long. The body shape was completely different from oriental dragons. This dragon had a shorter, stockier body, a long whip like tail and four long powerful legs. It was a dark smokey grey color, which would help it blend in with its native surroundings, the northern mountains of Europe. This was a Northern Mountain Horned Dragon.

Hana stared in awe and fear. It was huge. A flashback of the attack on her village came to her.

_As she ran to the storage shed, she saw a huge dark dragon swoop down on her house. She went through the open shed door and slammed it shut. She_ _hid under a pile of skins, shaking. She heard people scream as the dragon tore through the village._

Hana shook herself to clear the memory.

"Are you okay?" Hi'Iki asked quietly.

Hana nodded.

The dragon growled as it looked around, searching for something. It folded its wings and walked to a jumbled pile of rocks and started digging at them.

Hi'Iki knew the weak spot of the dragon and could kill it by himself, as long as it was just one dragon. If there were others nearby, he wouldn't stand a chance. He whispered something to Kodo and Podo.

"What are you doing?" Hana whispered.

"Checking for others."

Two little birds flew up from the streambed, flew over the dragon and disappeared. The dragon looked up at the birds, but ignored them. The little birds circled around, their flight covering several miles. They flew back to the streambed.

Hi'Iki checked on the dragon. It was still digging at the pile of rocks.

"I know their weak spot. We can kill it, but we must be careful."

Hana nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Stay with me. Kodo and Podo will distract it."

Again, Hana nodded. She found she trusted Hi'Iki completely, which went against all she had been taught.

Kodo and Podo flew over the dragon, hissing and growling at it. The dragon whipped its head around and roared at them. They buzzed it, swooping in to nip at it and then dodging its retaliation strikes.

Hi'Iki and Hana crept out from their hiding place, staying in the gully, and circled around behind the frustrated dragon.

The dragon kept trying to catch the little dragons, but they were too fast and dodged out of the way. The frustrated dragon's attention was focused on the little dragons, it wasn't aware it was being stalked.

Hi'Iki motioned for Hana to one side. He drew his sword.

The dragon suddenly swung around in an attempt to catch the pesky little dragons. It paused a second when it saw Hi'Iki, then, with a roar, attacked.

Hi'Iki was expecting this move and ducked under the dragon ramming his sword into the soft spot on the dragon's belly. The sword's double blades sliced the arteries of the dragon's heart, killing it instantly. Hi'Iki scrambled to get out of the way as the dragon fell.

Hana's eyes were wide. She had never seen such a daring move, and had never seen such a sword. She was impressed.

Hi'Iki stood back, panting a bit. It took strength and courage to slay such a large dangerous creature. Knowing how to slay the dragons and actually being able to do it were two different things.

"Are you okay?" Hana asked.

Hi'Iki nodded. He walked over to the dragon and removed his sword. He wiped the blood off in the dirt.

"I've never seen such a move before. Where did you learn it?"

"By accident." Hi'Iki was looking at Kodo and Podo sitting on the pile of rocks the dragon had been digging at. The little dragons started pushing the rocks off the pile. Hi'Iki went to help. Something was in that pile that the dragon had wanted.

Hana walked over to help. She wanted to know about that move and the sword, but she'd have to wait. Hi'Iki's attention was elsewhere.

"What's that?" Hana pointed to something sticking out from under a rock. Hi'Iki reached down and pulled the object out. It was a piece of skin with something drawn on it. Hi'Iki spread it out on the ground so they could study it.

On the skin was a map of the main island of Japan. There were areas marked on the map, showing where the native dragon clans lived. Several were scratched out.

Hi'Iki swore under his breath.

"What?"

"It's an invasion. They marked all the dragon clans and are systematically destroying each clan."

"But why?"

He looked at Hana. "To take over their lands." The implications were devastating.

"We need to get this information back to Sesshoumaru and the native dragon clans."

"Who's Sesshoumaru?" Hana felt it was important to tell Sango. "We should tell Sango and the others in the village."

"It's more important to get this to the dragon clans." The name Sango made Hi'Iki think about something Rin had told him. "Is there someone named InuYasha in this village?"

Hana nodded.

"That would be Sesshoumaru's brother."

"Is this Sesshoumaru a hanyou also?"

Hi'Iki smiled. "No. Full youkai."

Hana thought for a moment. "You go tell Sesshoumaru and I'll tell Sango."

Hi'Iki didn't want her traveling alone. It wouldn't be safe for her anymore. "No. It won't be safe for you. Once the other dragons discover this, they'll come after both of us."

'Great, now I'm a target' Hana thought to herself. 'What am I getting myself into?'

Hi'Iki called to Kodo and Podo. "Can you ride a horse?"

"Yes of course. Why?"

Hi'Iki nodded to the little dragons, and they quickly became horses. "Get on." He got on the black horse.

Hana stared in amazement for a moment. These little dragons were full of surprises. She got on the white horse.

The two horses ran like the wind back to the castle.

Jaken and Rin were having tea and arguing about what Hi'Iki might find. Sesshoumaru sat quietly, listening.

"Of course he'll find evidence of the dragons!" Jaken insisted.

"But, if they can hide their scent, what evidence will he find?"

"Silly girl, there's all kinds of things!"

"Like what?"

"Well, there's…" Jaken's sentence was cut short as Sesshoumaru suddenly got up and went outside.

It was the sound of thundering hooves that had brought Sesshoumaru outside. Two horses raced into the valley. Each had a rider. Sesshoumaru frowned. Who was the other rider?

The horses came to an abrupt halt at the porch. Hi'Iki jumped off. "It's bad," he said as bounded onto the porch.

As Hana slid off the white horse, she noticed the youkai staring at her. 'This must be Sesshoumaru,' she thought. She could the feel the power radiating from him. She hadn't really known what to expect, but it wasn't this dangerously powerful youkai. Yet for such a powerful youkai, she couldn't detect any malice from him.

"Sorry. Sesshoumaru, this is Hana." Hi'Iki realized they hadn't expected Hana. "She's a youkai slayer, on a mission to hunt dragons." He couldn't help himself, the irony of that statement made him grin.

Turning his attention to Hi'Iki, Sesshoumaru asked, "How bad?"

Hi'Iki pulled out the map. "Let's take a look." He sat down, spreading the map out. Everyone else also sat down and studied the map.

Rin came out to join them. Hana was surprised to see a young human woman staying with such a powerful youkai, or that said youkai would allow her to stay. 'Must be something in the air here,' Hana thought. 'And it's starting to affect me as well.'

"See, here" Hi'Iki pointed to the top of the map. "It starts in the north, and goes south. Each dragon clan is marked. The ones scratched off I think have already been wiped out."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "This one was wiped out a few months ago," he pointed to one scratched off about a third of the way down the map. The next clan marked on the map was around the area of InuYasha's village. It wasn't scratched off. This was the clan of the Oriental Dragon King that had met with Sesshoumaru.

"We have to stop them, Sesshoumaru," Hi'Iki said. "And we're going to need help."

"Sango might help," Hana said, thinking of the youkai slayer.

Sesshoumaru gave a slight nod to Hana. "The dragon king needs to be informed. You two go to the village and let them know what's going on. I'll meet you there."

"What does all this mean?" Rin asked. While Hana, Hi'Iki and Sesshoumaru understood the implications, Rin did not.

"The dragons are trying to wipe out the native dragon clans." Hi'Iki explained. "They're looking for new lands to take over and rule."

"We need to go." Sesshoumaru understood the danger of anyone staying at the castle. He ordered Daira to leave. "Jaken, you and Rin go with Hi'Iki."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken knew better than to say anything.

"Why do I need to go with Hi'Iki-sama?" Rin, however, wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"Silly girl," Jaken scolded, "don't question our lord!"

"But…"

"Take Ah-un." Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, just looked at Rin.

Reluctantly, she agreed.

"Be careful, Sesshoumaru." Hi'Iki turned to the others. "Let's go."

Jaken got Ah-un from the field and everyone got on. Ah-un took off. Kodo and Podo followed.

"Where is he going?" Rin asked, worried about Sesshoumaru.

"To tell the Dragon King what we've learned."

"But…" Rin started to say. Her eyes opened wide when she realized what that might mean.

Hana saw the doubt and fear in Rin's eyes. "It's okay. He'll be all right."

Rin nodded, not really believing.

Sesshoumaru stopped to watch them leave. He didn't really want to leave Rin, and wasn't happy about leaving her with Hi'Iki. But where he was going was too dangerous, and he didn't want Rin in harm's way. Rin would be safer with Hi'Iki in the village. He took one last look, and then flew off to see the Dragon King.

Rin kept looking back, worried for Sesshoumaru.

Hana, to distract Rin, asked, "How did you end up staying with Sesshoumaru?"

Grateful for the conversation, Rin told Hana the story of how she found the injured youkai and tried to help him, even though he refused her help.

"So you just followed him after that?"

"No. I was attacked by wolves and killed, Sesshoumaru-sama revived me. That's when I followed."

"Revived you how?" Hana had never heard such a thing.

"With Tenseiga. It's a healing sword." Rin went on to explain about the search for Naraku, his defeat, her stay at the village and going back with Sesshoumaru. "So I've been with him ever since."

"From what you told me, I'd say Sesshoumaru is a skilled and powerful fighter. So have confidence in him. He knows what he's doing."

Rin smiled and nodded.

To get a feel for everyone in the village, Hana asked "Who all lives in the village?"

"Well, there's Sesshoumaru-sama's brother, InuYasha. They don't get along well, but at least they don't fight any more. Kagome is InuYasha's mate. She is a miko. Miroku is a monk and married to Sango."

"Yes, I met them. Sango is a youkai slayer like me. How did a miko end up with a hanyou?" Hana couldn't help think that these people had some strange ideas.

"Oh, Kagome is from the 'future' I think they call it."

This surprised Hi'Iki as well as Hana. "Future? How can that be?" Hana asked.

"I don't know how it works, but when Kagome wants to go to her home, she goes through a well. She doesn't do it often, and I think it's only when she really needs something." Rin really didn't understand the working of it, but accepted it. "Anyway, Kagome and InuYasha had to work together to defeat Naraku. That's how they first met."

'Maybe the future is more tolerant of youkai?' Hana thought to herself. Out loud she said, "This Naraku must have been trouble for a lot of people."

Rin nodded.

Ah-un flew faster than he had ever flown before. Since they had left late in the afternoon, the ride lasted into the night. Rin fell asleep between Hi'Iki and Hana. Jaken had kept quiet during most of the trip, except for making unintelligible remarks about InuYasha.

It was early morning when Ah-un landed just outside the village. Hi'Iki and Hana slid off the two-headed dragon and stretched their cramped muscles. Kodo and Podo took up their perch on Hi'Iki's shoulders. Rin was still asleep. Jaken had also fallen asleep. He mumbled something and turned in his sleep, falling off Ah-un.

"Wha…?!" Jaken shook himself and looked around. "Are we here already?"

Hana walked over to Rin and gently shook her awake. "Rin, we're here."

"Okay," Rin slowly woke up, slid off Ah-un and like the others, stretched. She looked around, noticing that it was just getting light. She doubted anyone would be up. "We can either wait for someone to get up, or go wake them up."

"Wake them up," Hi'Iki said.

"Wake who up?" demanded a voice from behind them. InuYasha had smelled Ah-un and passengers and had come out to see what was up. "And who are you?"

"This is Hi'Iki-sama, and Hana," Rin said introducing them.

"What are you doing here? And where's Sesshoumaru?" To InuYasha, Rin and her companions arriving so early and without Sesshoumaru meant that something happened.

"Sesshoumaru went to talk to the Dragon King," Hi'Iki started to explain.

"The Dragon King? What for?" InuYasha frowned at them. But then he remembered the dead dragon from the day before. "Does this have to do with the dead dragon?"

"You found a dead dragon? What kind?"

"What do you mean what kind? We only have one kind here." InuYasha wasn't sure what this Hi'Iki was getting at.

"So it was a native dragon."

"Yeah, so what? What's this all about anyway?"

"The native dragon clans are being wiped out by an invading dragon clan."

"So? What does that have to do with us?"

"These dragons are looking for new lands to rule. They'll take over after killing or driving out all the native dragons."

"Why should that bother us?"

"Because, not only will they wipe out the dragons, but anyone else who opposes them. If you're not killed outright, you'd better abide by their rules or you will be killed."

InuYasha didn't like the sound of this.

"InuYasha-sama, I think we should tell the whole village what is going on," Rin said before InuYasha could say anything. "Even Sesshoumaru-sama is worried."

That made InuYasha pause. While he might not admit it, he knew what Sesshoumaru was capable of, and if Sesshoumaru was worried, that worried InuYasha.

"Let's go."

Kagome woke up to find InuYasha gone. Wondering where he had gone, she went out to search for him. She stopped when she saw the group heading her way. "What's going on?" she asked, noticing the serious looking faces.

Instead of answering, InuYasha said "Get Miroku and Sango up. We have something to discuss."

With a slight frown, Kagome went to do as InuYasha told her. She sensed something was very wrong.

A few minutes later a sleepy Miroku and Sango met with InuYasha in the center of the village.

"What's this all about?" Miroku demanded sleepily.

"It seems we have an invasion on our hands."

Miroku was suddenly wide awake.

"A different kind of dragon clan has invaded," Hi'Iki explained. "These dragons come from Europe, and will stop at nothing to get what they want." He held up his hand to stop the torrent of questions that three of them had. "I'm Hi'Iki. Just listen." He went on to explain, "Hana and I discovered a map that shows the clans of the dragons. Some of the clans are scratched off. Those have been wiped out. These European dragons are after the lands here. These dragons are dangerous. Not only do they have the power of a dragon youkai, they are also skilled in the use of magic. It'll be hard, but they must be stopped."

"That would explain the centipede," Miroku said thoughtfully. He looked at InuYasha. "So this isn't going to won by brute strength."

"I can handle anything with Tetsusaiga," InuYasha said confidently.

"I don't think so," Miroku said. "Remember the centipede."

"What about the centipede?" Hi'Iki asked, although he suspected what it was.

"Yesterday we dealt with a centipede that seemed faster and more maneuverable than it should have been."

Hi'Iki nodded. "Dragon magic. Place a spell on something and it acts differently." Hi'Iki explained. "We're going to need to counter any magic they use." Hi'Iki was a natural leader, and had no problem taking charge. He looked at everyone, to make sure he had their attention. "We need to assess our strengths and come up with a battle plan."

Kagome looked over at InuYasha. He was frowning slightly, but actually paying attention. Kagome knew that InuYasha didn't take orders well, and preferred to take charge.

Hi'Iki had seen Kagome's look, and noticed InuYasha's frown. 'If InuYasha is anything like his brother, he'll be the stubborn, take charge type,' Hi'Iki thought. 'I'll need to take charge just to keep them from fighting.'

"I take it you've had dealings with these dragons before?" Miroku had come to similar conclusion.

"Yes. I've learned a few things about them in my encounters."

"Then I think it best if we defer to you on this." He looked at InuYasha to forestall any argument. "We'll wait for Sesshoumaru."

Note:

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter done. I had trouble with some scenes.

Keeping Sesshoumaru in character when it comes to emotions isn't easy. Some emotions he has never had to deal with until now so when I have him deal with these new emotions, it will be based on what I know of his character, and how I think he'd react.


	5. Chapter 5 Battle with the Dragons

Chapter 5 Battle of the Dragons

Chapter 5 Battle with the Dragons

First I would like to thank my friend Cynthia for helping me on the last chapter. She gave me some good advice

Second, I'd like to thank all who have read the story and reviewed it. Thanks for the encouragement!

The afternoon sun was slowly disappearing behind the trees as Sesshoumaru made his way through the forest. All of his senses were alert to any unusual activity. At any moment he might come across the dragons. While in the densest part of the forest, Sesshoumaru faintly heard the sound of large wings. He kept to the thickest stands of trees, but rest of the journey was without incident.

Sesshoumaru knew he was in the general area where the dragon King's clan lived when he heard the roar of a waterfall. Without warning, the forest abruptly ended in a large sun dappled clearing. At one end of the clearing was a large waterfall, ending in a beautiful clear pool. Waiting next to the pool was the Dragon King.

Sesshoumaru walked up to the dragon and gave a respect bow. He pulled out the map. "We have evidence of an invasion." He spread the map out on a large rock and showed the Dragon King what they'd found.

"It is as we surmised," the Dragon King hissed. "What are your plans?"

"We plan on stopping them."

The Dragon King nodded his head once. "Come." He led Sesshoumaru around the pool, to the back of the waterfall. There was an opening in the rock that led to a large cave.

In the cool dark interior, Sesshoumaru found himself surrounded by dragons. He estimated at least 40 dragons lived in the cave. Oriental dragons tend to be shy nocturnal creatures, preferring to avoid encounters with others. Still, Sesshoumaru was surprised to find so many living near his home without his being aware of them.

"We are being invaded," the Dragon King hissed. Lots of angry hissing followed his statement. "Listen well, my people. We go with Sesshoumaru-sama to stop the invasion." He waited for his people to quiet down. "Let us go." He led the large group outside. All capable dragons were going. There were a total of 48 dragons, of various sizes and colors. Five were staying to protect the eggs nestled deep with in the cave.

So 43 dragons and one youkai set out to join forces with the others to stop the invaders.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

As the center of the village brightened with the rising sun, Kagome realized no one had eaten.

"Let's continue this over breakfast." She turned and made her way back to the house, expecting everyone to follow.

"Sounds like a good idea," Sango agreed. Hana nodded, as did Rin. The three of them followed Kagome.

"Might as well," InuYasha said. The three men left, leaving Jaken with Ah-un. Jaken settled Ah-un in the field and hurried back to join the rest.

The others were sitting around the fire pit, talking. Sango had asked Hana about her search.

Hana tells them how she met Hi'Iki and the events that followed.

"I was taught that humans and youkai don't get along. So I became a youkai slayer in the belief it was the right thing to do. Yet here, not only do they get along, they're willing to work together." Hana shook her head.

"It's because we've learned that not all youkai hate humans." Miroku explained.

"It's just not what I expected, and takes some getting used to."

"How do you know Sesshoumaru?" InuYasha asked Hi'Iki. He didn't know anything about Sesshoumaru's past, and this might be a way to learn about his brother.

"I was an orphan. Sesshoumaru's parents raised me until we found my Uncle. Sesshoumaru and I became good friends." Hi'Iki paused. "He hasn't changed much, although, I was surprised to find Rin staying with him."

"Yeah, he hates humans," InuYasha said.

"Not all humans," Rin disagreed.

"It's not that he hates humans so much as he doesn't trust them." Hana said. "I didn't sense any form of malice from him. But I don't think he completely trusted me."

"He did hate humans at one time," Miroku said thoughtfully. "But I think Rin's influence changed that."

Hi'Iki smiled at Rin. "Rin's been a good influence on Sesshoumaru."

Their conversation came to an abrupt end.

"Kagome! InuYasha! Something's going on at the well!"

A small kitsune youkai came bounding through the door.

"What's going on Shippou?" Kagome asked.

"Come on!" Shippou ran back out without waiting.

Grabbing her bow and arrows, Kagome was the first out the door, InuYasha right behind. Sango and Miroku stopped to get their weapons. Kirara jumped on Sango's shoulder as Hana and Hi'Iki followed them.

The sight at the well was one they weren't expecting.

Dozens of Oriental dragons were circling around a large unknown dragon. The dragon flapped its wings and several Oriental dragons attacked. They latched onto the dragon, making it rear up to try and throw them off. A smaller figure darted in and attacked with a sword. The dragon screamed and tried to get away from what appeared to be lightning, but it was useless. The effect continued until the dragon simply fell apart.

"So that's how it works. Not bad," Hi'Iki said as he walked over to Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru just looked at Hi'Iki and put his sword away.

Rin went straight to Sesshoumaru. "Are you okay, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He gave her a curt nod, but kept his attention on Hi'Iki.

"Are they all that big?" Sango asked, watching as Miroku blessed what was left of the dragon.

"That's average size. It's just a scout." Hi'Iki looked the group over and noticed that Sesshoumaru and InuYasha kept slightly apart from each other.

"If that's average, how big can they get?" InuYasha wanted to know.

"Fighters are about twice that size."

"This isn't going to be easy," Miroku said.

"No, it isn't," Hi'Iki agreed. "We need a battle plan."

"'Know your enemy'," Sesshoumaru said. "Find out their strengths and weaknesses."

Hi'Iki nodded.

"You know one weakness," Hana said.

Everyone looked at Hi'Iki. He was the only "expert" on these dragons. Sitting on the edge of the well, he said, "As Hana stated I do know one weakness. I discovered it quite by accident while I was in Europe. A lone dragon attacked me, knocking me flat. I barely had time to grab my sword as it came at me. I jammed the sword into its belly, not expecting much, but it died instantly. When I examined it, I found a soft spot just below the breast bone, between the front legs. My sword went in there, slicing through the heart."

"Easy for you," hissed the Dragon King. "We do not have swords."

"Not as easy as it sounds." Hi'Iki commented. "You have to be right under the dragon."

He looked at the Oriental dragons. The horns on their heads were of varying sizes, depending on the size of the dragon. The Dragon King was the largest; his were well over four feet.

"If you get a chance, use your horns."

"But you have to be right under them," InuYasha reminded them.

"It is good to know this weakness," the Dragon King hissed. "If we get a chance, we will exploit it. What else?"

"First rule of battle," Sesshoumaru started to say.

"Pick your battleground," Hi'Iki finished.

"Not here," Kagome said. "It's too close to the village."

"Somewhere we know and have the advantage," Miroku agreed.

"South of here is a clearing, surrounded by forest." InuYasha thought a moment. "How do they maneuver in forests?"

"The big ones not well. The forest would protect us from aerial attacks." As he talked, Hi'Iki looked the group over. InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippou he correctly guessed had worked as a team before. Sesshoumaru he knew and trusted. Rin stood next to Sesshoumaru. 'If this weren't so serious,' Hi'Iki thought, 'I'd have fun making Sesshoumaru see what he has right next to him.'

The Oriental dragons were a clan and would support each other as well as anyone who was helping them. Hana he knew he could count on. All together, this group would make a formidable fighting force. "There is one thing though. The dragons are fire breathers and will burn any forest down."

"That could be a problem," Miroku observed.

"Someplace without trees then," InuYasha said.

"How about Onigumo's cave?" Kagome asked. "There are trees, but its all rock and there's water nearby in a meadow."

"Let's have a look."

Kagome led them to the place of Onigumo's cave. The cave was in a meadow at the edge of a small lake. Trees bordered the meadow in some places, mostly by the cave. It was far enough from the village that it was unlikely to be attacked, but close enough that it didn't take a long time to get there. Hi'Iki doubted they had much time.

"This is a good place," Hi'Iki confirmed after looking the place over. He sat near the cave, the Oriental dragons forming a loose circle around him. The rest of the group was inside the circle. Hi'Iki had everyone's attention.

"So now we get the dragons to come here."

"How do we do that?" Miroku asked.

"I go find them and get them to chase me here." Hi'Iki wasn't too fond of this idea, but it should work.

"Perhaps a few of us should go as well," the Dragon King hissed. "After all, it is us they are trying to wipe out."

Hi'Iki nodded. "We may have a problem with dragon magic." He turned to Shippou. "You use magic?"

Shippou nodded. "Kitsune magic. It's like playing tricks on people."

InuYasha snorted.

Ignoring InuYasha, Hi'Iki asked "Can you sense when someone else is using magic?"

"Sometimes. Depends on the magic used." While still young, Shippou had matured a little in the last 10 years. The battle ahead still frightened him but a little fear wouldn't stop him from helping his friends. "I'll do what I can," he promised.

"What kind of magic are we talking about?" Sango asked.

"Depends on type. These Northern Mountain Horned dragons have an ability to make something appear different than it should be. Like the centipede. Faster and more maneuverable. That was the magic."

"So they use others as a sort of distraction," Miroku said thoughtfully.

Hi'Iki nodded. "We'll have to keep an eye out for the unexpected." He looked at the Dragon King. "Who gets to go with me?"

The Dragon King hissed at the four largest dragons. The four dragons moved to stand beside their king. "We go."

"How are you going to find them?" Hana asked.

"We'll head in the direction of the mountains. Chances are the dragons will find us first." 'Not a very good prospect' Hi'Iki thought, 'especially since we can't smell them.'

They left the meadow to several "Good lucks" and "Be careful".

After they left, the Oriental dragons went looking for hiding places. They settled down in thick bushy areas. Their long thin bodies made it easy for them to hide and maneuver in the thick brush. When they stretched out on the ground they practically disappeared.

Sesshoumaru watched them disappear. He looked around for a good position to defend. The cave was up on a ledge. Above the cave were trees. Below the ledge was a large recess in the rock. This would be a good place to make a stand. He sat down, back to the recess. And waited.

The others had the same idea. They followed Sesshoumaru and found comfortable places to wait. InuYasha sat on the ledge, above Sesshoumaru. Everyone was quiet, preparing themselves for the battle to come.

It came in an unexpected form.

As the sun reached midpoint in the sky, Kodo and Podo became very agitated and flew out of the tree above the cave.

"I think the dragons are here," Hana whispered.

Sesshoumaru sprang up, as did InuYasha. They stood side by side, swords drawn.

The long grass waved as something large moved through it. About a dozen large centipedes soon came into view.

"Damn! I hate centipedes!" InuYasha exclaimed as he prepared himself for the attack.

"They're just centipedes," Sesshoumaru said, ready to attack.

"You didn't meet the last one."

The centipedes rushed in for the attack. They didn't get far. The Oriental dragons appeared from their hiding places and attacked the centipedes. The fight was brief, as the dragons made short work of the centipedes.

"What's with the centipedes," Kagome commented.

"The invading dragons using their magic," Miroku guessed.

"It's possible," Shippou agreed. "But I can't detect any magic. If that's their magic, I don't know how we'll counter it."

"But why such an easy fight?" InuYasha asked.

"Not as easy as it looked," hissed one of the dragons. "Had there been less of us, it would have been much more difficult."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hi'Iki was hanging onto the mane of the Dragon King. They were flying over forests towards the mountain where Hi'Iki had discovered the bedding site. The other four dragons flew in formation, one in front, one in back, and one on each side.

They had been flying for over an hour when the sound of wings drew their attention above them. They all looked up. At least 20 dragons were circling above them.

The five Oriental dragons dove for the trees. The European dragons dived after them. The dragon King and his companions swooped in and out of the trees, making themselves difficult targets.

"Don't make it too hard," Hi'Iki told the Dragon King. "We want them to follow."

The Dragon King smiled. "You wish to let them get closer?"

Hi'Iki flexed the fingers on one hand. Five black claws appeared. "Don't want them to think we're unsociable."

The Dragon King flew up, out of the trees, right into an unsuspecting dragon. Hi'Iki reached out with the clawed hand and swiped at the dragon. It seemed as if Hi'Iki missed. The dragon roared, spun around and let loose with a burst of flame. Hi'Iki and the Dragon King ducked back into the trees, avoiding the flames.

"You missed!?" The Dragon King was disappointed.

Hi'Iki flexed his finger again, the claws disappeared. "Nope."

Above, the dragon started screeching and writhing in the air. A minute later it fell from the sky, landing in a heap on the ground. It no longer moved.

The dragons became furious at death of one of their clan. Roaring angrily, they flew after the fleeing Oriental dragons.

"Forgive me for doubting you. What did you do?"

"My claws have poison in them. It dissolves the inside of the body."

As they raced back to the clearing, the Oriental dragons continued to weave in and out of the trees, every once in a while showing themselves to the invading dragons.

Two of the invading dragons swooped low, sending flames into the trees in an attempt to drive the others out. The Dragon King just managed to avoid a blast of flame. One of the other Oriental dragons flew up, into the two dragons. Claws and horns slashed. The Oriental dragon's slimmer body twisted around the two European dragons, causing them to stall. Torn and bloody, the three dragons became tangled and fell, crashing through the trees to the ground.

The Dragon King gave a low growl, but kept going. Hi'Iki looked back. He was upset that one of the Oriental dragons had died to protect them. He was more determined than ever to stop the invaders.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

After things settled down, Kodo and Podo returned to their perch in the tree above the cave. Everyone gathered together after the centipede attack, except the Oriental dragons. Once again, they had disappeared.

"What's next?" InuYasha griped.

"I don't know, but I think we should use Kodo and Podo as our warning system. They seem to know when something's coming." Hana pointed out.

"They seem very observant," Miroku agreed.

Sesshoumaru climbed up on the ledge and looked around. The others followed, and they stood as a group in front of the cave, waiting for whatever came next.

Had anyone thought to look up, they would have seen a small speck circling high above them. After a few minutes the small speck flew away.

The waiting didn't last long.

Kodo and Podo erupted in a flurry of hissing and screeching, once again warning everyone that something was approaching.

This time it was a mixed group of youkai came diving down out of the sky at the group.

Sesshoumaru and InuYasha attacked at the same time. Sesshoumaru moved swiftly, dodging and spinning, placing precise blows with his sword. InuYasha used his usual frontal attack, although he didn't just rush in swinging. He judged his opponent and attacked accordingly.

As Miroku went after youkai with his staff, Sango followed on Kirara, using her Hiraikotsu. Kagome, Hana, Rin, Jaken and Shippou stayed together. Kagome and Hana did most of the fighting as Rin and Shippou's attacks weren't very effective. While Jaken was able to burn a couple, he wasn't fast enough to be much help. Fortunately, the Oriental dragons were effective in their attacks, and helped to keep the youkai away from the trio.

Sesshoumaru checked on Rin. He wasn't happy that she was there. He would have preferred she stay in the village. But her safety wasn't assured there either, and they needed all available fighters. He noted that the Oriental dragons were blocking any attempt by the youkai to get at Rin, so he concentrated on his own fight.

"Persistent snake," Sesshoumaru growled as he tried getting in a strike at a particularly elusive snake like youkai. It was the last one remaining.

"Just like the centipede," InuYasha said as he came in from one side. He swiped at it, distracting it long enough for Sesshoumaru to finally get a blow in. With the last attacker dead, Sesshoumaru stepped back to survey the damage.

"My Kazaana would have come in handy for that," Miroku said, as he joined the brothers.

"Yeah, but if you had the Kazaana, then we'd have Naraku to deal with as well as dragons," InuYasha reminded him.

"Yeah, that would be too much for you to handle," Miroku agreed.

"Keh! I can handle whatever comes my way!"

Kagome, Rin, Hana and Sango joined them. "Is anyone hurt?" Kagome asked.

"No, we're fine," Miroku answered for everyone.

High above them, and unobserved, the small speck was back, circling around. It stayed a few minutes, then disappeared.

Once again, all they could do was wait.

Kodo and Podo screeched and flew from the tree.

All at once the sky was filled with roaring dragons. They soared high, roaring and screeching. Then, as one, they flew in low, sending flames every which way. Nothing would remain hidden for long in the burning grass.

Two big dragons came in low, blasting fire into the trees.

The Dragon King burst out the trees, passed close to the cave and quickly swerved away.

Hi'Iki jumped off as the Dragon King swerved, rolled on the ground, and came up running. He bounded up the rocks to the cave, followed by two big cats. Kodo and Podo had transformed into their fighting forms, a black leopard and a white tiger.

The main group of attacking Northern Mountain Horned Dragons went after the Oriental dragons. A smaller group went after the people at the cave.

Instead of attacking, the largest of these dragons landed on the ground in front of the cave. It was coal black in color, red eyes and had a row of pale blue horns that ran from the back of the head down the back to the tail. It also had a pair of horns that swept back from the top of the head as well as a pair behind the eyes.

Hi'Iki stepped forward. This was the ruler of the Northern Mountain Horned Dragon Clan.

The dragon's angry eyes focused on Hi'Iki. "You have killed my people, interfered with my plans! This will not be tolerated!" hissed the dragon. "You will die!" The dragon roared, and launched himself into the air.

With his roar, the invading dragons attacked.

Notes:

I used an actual place in the series for the battleground.

I'm not sure of the exact attack of Sesshoumaru's Bakusaiga sword, but after looking at the manga again, it seems to be a sort of lightning attack. Even if only a part of the opponent is cut, the attack keeps going until the whole opponent is destroyed.

Cynthia is supposed to read the chapter and may add to or make changes. If she does, I'll update the chapter.

Chapter 6 is being worked on.

I am also doing some art work for the story. If interested in seeing the older art, check out my website.


	6. Chapter 6 The Spirit Dragon

Chapter 6 The Spirit Dragon

Sorry it's taken so long to update. I had the chapter almost done and didn't like it and rewrote the whole thing. I feel like I should have added more interaction with the characters, but I had a hard enough time with what I wrote. Fight scenes are not easy.

Chapter 6 The Spirit Dragon

The early afternoon sky was full of roaring dragons. The Northern Mountain Horned dragons attacked from every direction.

The Oriental dragons countered with their own attack. They were more maneuverable than the invaders, but there were more of the invaders. Horns, teeth and claws were used as main weapons. The battle was vicious and bloody.

InuYasha, Miroku, Kagome, Sango and Hana teamed up, backs to each other. Rin and Shippou were in the center, protected. Any attacking dragons were fended off, but none were killed. All their strikes simply bounced off any dragon it hit.

Jaken ran around screeching "Take that!" or "Take this!" as he blasted the fire from the staff in dragons' faces. The dragons would veer off, shaking their heads.

Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki attacked together, going right into the main force of dragons. They spun, twisted, dodged and turned, but only a few of their strikes made contact. They pulled back, dodging any dragons. Something wasn't right.

Back on the ground, they had a few seconds to study the situation. Sesshoumaru saw a dragon higher up than the others. It wasn't fighting but appeared to be watching. It was a different color, more blue than grey, and kept to itself.

"That dragon there," he pointed it out to Hi'Iki.

"It's using magic to create shields," Hi'Iki said. "We have to stop that dragon."

The two of them took off.

InuYasha noticed the two flying up away from the main fight.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru, where you going?" InuYasha followed after his brother, wondering what they were doing.

Before anyone could say anything, the black dragon leader came swooping in after Hi'Iki.

Hi'Iki dodged, and dove down. The black dragon went after him.

"Stop that dragon!" Hi'Iki yelled back at Sesshoumaru.

"What's going on?" InuYasha demanded.

"That dragon is using magic."

InuYasha looked back at the group, worried about Kagome. The group was still fending off the dragons.

"We can't kill them if that dragon keeps protecting them," Sesshoumaru stated. He had come to that conclusion earlier, after checking on Rin. He was worried about her but realized that to defeat the dragons, they had to stop the one using magic.

InuYasha nodded.

As they made their climb up, a dragon came from behind, ready to strike. The sound of mooing distracted the dragon for a moment. A flash of light and suddenly a cow was falling out of the sky. The cow had three eyes and a rider. Surprised, the dragon tried to dodge, but the cow hit the dragon's wing. The rider took his long handled mallet and smashed the dragon on the head. All three fell like a rock, crashing to the ground.

Kagome saw cow and rider hit the ground and went to see if they were okay. A big dragon came after Kagome, ready to snap her in half. Something hit it hard in the side of the head, knocking it off its path. The dragon shook its head, and backed off.

"Kagome, what has dogbreath done now?"

"Kouga! Watch out!" Kagome yelled as a dragon came up from behind Kouga.

Kouga jumped up, over the dragon and delivered another powerful kick to the head. Even without the shards, he was still powerful. As the dragon stumbled, disoriented, the three cats jumped grabbing its wings. They were joined by several wolves. They ripped the wings to shreds, grounding the dragon. A blast of fire destroyed the dragon.

"Kouga! Toutousai! I'm so glad you're here!" Kagome gave them both a hug, and told them about the invading dragons. "We can use all the help we can get."

"Anything for you, Kagome."

"This isn't InuYasha's doing?" Toutousai asked. "Where is the worthless pup?"

Kouga and Toutousai joined the small group fending off the dragons. Even with the two new recruits, the dragons were hard to kill. The dragons now avoided the cats, so all that the fighters were able to do was fend off the dragons.

"What's he doing here?" InuYasha had seen Kouga arrive. Sesshoumaru didn't bother to answer. He kept his attention on the dragon. Sesshoumaru went after his target. He didn't get far when a dragon blocked his path. Instead of attacking, Sesshoumaru ducked under the dragon, avoiding it. The dragon disappeared and reappeared in front of him again.

'Damn!' Sesshoumaru didn't like this new trick.

The dragon roared and went after Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru avoided the frontal attack and struck with his sword. The dragon disappeared again and reappeared behind Sesshoumaru. It attacked again. Sesshoumaru barely avoided the attack by diving down. The dragon's size prevented it from moving as fast as Sesshoumaru. It shot past Sesshoumaru and turned as it dove. It came around for another strike. As it came after Sesshoumaru, it missed seeing another figure coming up under it.

It had occurred to InuYasha that he might be able to get the dragon while it was distracted by Sesshoumaru. He had waited for the dragon's attention to be focused on Sesshoumaru then attacked.

The dragon sensed InuYasha's presence too late. InuYasha hit the dragon with Kaze no Kizu. The dragon was blasted apart by the blow.

"Neat trick". InuYasha joined Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru ignored the comment and continued after the blue-grey dragon. He flew through a group of Oriental dragons fighting invaders. Sesshoumaru slashed at any invading dragons that got in his way. Two of his blows landed, causing the invading dragons to back off for a moment.

The Oriental dragon king had also noticed the odd dragon. "What is your plan?" he asked Sesshoumaru.

"Keep the other dragons off us."

The dragon king nodded, called his people together and told them what to do.

The blue-grey dragon was working frantically to create the barriers. It knew it was in trouble. It couldn't create barriers fast enough to protect all the dragons, and now it was a target.

Sesshoumaru and InuYasha made their way to where the blue-grey dragon was working frantically. They had no idea what this dragon was capable of doing, so approached cautiously.

Hi'Iki tried to slip away from the black dragon, but it was persistent. Another dragon came after Hi'Iki. Hi'Iki rolled sideways and then slashed out with his claws. The dragon turned to attack, but instead, went down screaming. Hi'Iki didn't like to use his claws, knowing the suffering they caused, but this was a case of kill or be killed. How the killing was done didn't matter.

The black dragon circled around, coming in from behind. He saw the other dragon go down, screaming and had seen Hi'Iki use his claws. He wanted to avoid those claws. Roaring, he spit fire at Hi'Iki.

Hi'Iki dove, avoiding the flames. He wouldn't be able to help Sesshoumaru; he had enough trouble on his hands with the black dragon.

As the dragon dove after Sango, Kirara jumped on its back, digging in her claws. The dragon tried to shake the cat off, but Kirara wouldn't let go. The dragon swerved, changed directions and even tried flipping on its back. Kirara was finally dislodged. As she fell on the ground, the dragon changed course again and went after Rin. From seemingly out of nowhere, a black two-tailed cat jumped on the dragon. It dug its claws and teeth into the dragon. This cat stuck like glue to the dragon. As the dragon tried getting away, what looked like blue lightning started crackling around the dragon. The dragon screamed, its body shuddering from what seemed to be electrical current running through it. The cat jumped off, letting the burned dragon collapse in a heap on the ground.

Rin stared at the cat in amazement.

"Where'd that cat come from?" Sango asked, as the black cat went nose to nose with Kirara. The two cats turned and went back into the fight together.

Another dragon came in, going after Rin again. Both cats jumped, joined by Kodo and Podo. The dragon didn't stand a chance. With four cats on it, it was torn to shreds.

While the girls wanted to know about the new cat, they were quickly too busy to wonder where it came from, or what it was capable of doing.

Sesshoumaru saw the dragon go after Rin. He hesitated, but seeing the cats attack, didn't interfere. After making sure Rin was okay, he observed the dragon for a few minutes before attacking. It somehow created a ball of light, then the ball of light would disappear, reappearing around a dragon as a shield.

Using Bakusaiga, Sesshoumaru attacked. The dragon created a shield around itself. Sesshoumaru felt a buzzing in his head and shook it off. He wondered if the dragon caused it somehow.

InuYasha joined him, shaking his head. "What is that buzzing?"

"I think it's the dragon," Sesshoumaru guessed.

The dragon was using its mind magic. The mind magic caused lesser youkai to do the dragon's bidding. But it didn't work on stronger youkai.

Sesshoumaru told InuYasha to take one side. "Keep striking until it's destroyed." InuYasha nodded and moved to one side, ready to strike.

The dragon was frantic now. It couldn't protect the others as well as itself. The other dragons were busy with the Oriental dragons and couldn't come to its defense. The mind trick didn't work, so all it could do was create a barrier around itself and hope it held.

Sesshoumaru and InuYasha struck at the same time. The strikes bounced off the shield. They continued this for several minutes. Slowly, the shield began to lose its power. It finally just disappeared. The last two strikes hit the dragon, killing it.

Sesshoumaru and InuYasha went to join the others in the battle on the ground.

"It's about time you two got down here," Miroku said, as the battle continued.

Everyone had cuts, bruises and were bleeding. For every dragon they killed, two more seemed to take its place. The battle was a tough one. The dragons seemed to be endless.

Hi'Iki knew this fight was in a stalemate. Even though the magic using dragon was gone, neither side was gaining any ground. The defenders had the better fighting skills, but the invaders had the superior numbers. All the defenders could do was to keep themselves from getting killed. There was only one thing for Hi'Iki to do.

The black dragon came in low, aiming for Hi'Iki. Hi'Iki threw himself to the side, avoiding the flames. He rolled, came up running, going in the opposite direction. It fooled the dragon, who had to bank and turn to follow. Hi'Iki headed for the water. He wanted this fight to end and knew there was only one way.

The black dragon came in again, blasting flames. Hi'Iki dove into the water, the flames missing by mere inches. The dragon roared angrily and flew over the water, turned and came around for another pass. He wasn't prepared for what happened next.

A large dragon erupted from the water. It was an iridescent white, with two rows of rainbow scales, one on each side of the head and neck, running from the back of the head down almost to the end of the tail. It had a crest that went from the head to the shoulders and flared a bright blue. Flames flickered on either side of the tail's tip. The eyes were a bright aqua marine.

The white dragon roared and went after the black. The black dragon swerved, avoiding the white dragon's swiping black claws. They flew at each other, claws locking. They went into a roll, spinning down into the water with a huge splash.

A few minutes later the two dragons came out of the water. The black one had a ripped wing; the white one had a gash on its flank.

The rest of the dragons stopped their attack when they realized their ruler was in a fight to the death with the white dragon. They formed a loose circle around the fighting dragons.

The two dragons snapped, slashed and bit at each other.

"The Spirit Dragon has come," the Dragon King said, as the group watched the fight.

"Spirit Dragon?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. It is said the Spirit Dragon will save us from a great danger."

"But where'd it come from?" InuYasha wanted to know.

"Hi'Iki." Sesshoumaru knew about Hi'Iki's dragon form. He had seen Hi'Iki transform once before.

As they watched, the black dragon made a grab for Hi'Iki's neck. Hi'Iki swiped with his claws, the black dragon veered off. He had no desire to be ripped by those poisonous claws.

Hi'Iki realized the fight was a draw. Both of them were torn, bleeding and getting tired. The fight had to be finished. Drawing strength from within himself, Hi'Iki prepared for an all out attack. His eyes began to glow, brighter and lighter, and the rainbow scales raised up, looking like small colorful spikes. The scales started to glow. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"His mouth is glowing!" Hana said, surprised.

Kagome recognized the glow. "He's going to purify them!" She was shocked.

"But how…?" InuYasha started to say.

"We need a barrier," Sesshoumaru said, drawing Tenseiga. He thrust the sword into the ground. "Get behind me." Realizing Sesshoumaru meant to protect everyone, Miroku and Kagome put up a barrier. They hoped it would work.

Above them several things happened at once. Hi'Iki prepared to strike, the black dragon attacked, light flowed up the rainbow scales and Hi'Iki let loose a powerful blast. Instead of the normal fire, a pale blue ray of light shot out. It was powerful and knocked Hi'Iki back. He had no control at first and the light went every which way. It crackled with energy as it hit the black dragon, full force. The dragon screamed as the light purified him.

Hi'Iki snapped his jaws shut and the light stopped. He righted himself and went after the other dragons. With more control, he was able to use the purifying light with more accuracy. Most of the invading dragons were unable to get away. Hi'Iki purified all but a few. Letting those few go, he made his way slowly back to the meadow transforming as he landed. He collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

Kagome sighed with relief. A stray ray of light had skimmed over the barrier, but the barrier had held.

Sesshoumaru pulled Tenseiga from the ground and went to check Hi'Iki. Hana also went to check Hi'Iki.

Hi'Iki had rolled onto his back, and just lay there, panting.

"Didn't know you could do that," Sesshoumaru commented.

"Neither did I."

"Youkai aren't supposed to have purifying powers," Hana said as she stood next to him.

"What kind of Youkai has purifying powers?" InuYasha wanted to know.

"Yes, I'd like to know how that works," Kagome agreed.

"The Spirit Dragon. He is not an ordinary dragon." the Dragon King hissed. He looked quite pleased with himself.

"You mean he's not an ordinary youkai either?" Miroku asked, as he, Sango, Rin and the rest joined them.

"Yes. The Spirit Dragon is the embodiment of all that is good.

Exclamations of amazement went through the group.  
"Doesn't anyone want to know how I am?" Hi'Iki asked when it got quiet.

"Did you know about this?" Hana demanded to know.

Hi'Iki sat up. "No. This is news to me. As far as I've always known, my family is the last line of rare white dragon youkai. There aren't any others left." He looked at the dragon king. "What do you know of my family?"

"Your family came here many centuries ago, in refuge. This is the story they told. The white dragon line comes from the highest mountains, the Himalayas. The clan spread out, making homes in other countries. They were welcome most everywhere, since they were benevolent dragons. Once they got to Europe though, the dragons there despised them and hunted them. They planed to wipe out the entire white dragon clan." The Dragon King paused. "The only white dragons to survive was what was left of your family."

Hi'Iki shook his head. "I never knew that part of it."

"Your ancestors were the equivalent of Buddhist Monks."

"I don't know about any of you, but I could eat something," Toutousai interrupted the stunned silence following the Dragon King's last statement.

Everyone agreed to that. They were all tired, hurt and hungry. Kagome would have to do some first aid on everyone, at least everyone who would allow it. So they slowly made their way back to the village, discussing the battle.

"What do we do with the dragons that got away?" Hana asked.

"I'll go after them after I've rested a bit," Hi'Iki said. "Right now, all I want to do is sleep."

"We wish to thank all of you for your help," the Dragon King said. "Without it, we would not be here." He bowed. "We will take our leave here, as it is time for us to go home." He looked at Hi'Iki. "Do not be a stranger."

Hi'Iki nodded. "I'll come visit."

The Oriental dragons swiftly disappeared.

As the group reached the village, they were met by Ginta and Hakkaku. They were not as fast as Kouga so didn't reach the battle in time and stayed in the village instead to protect there if need be. At least that was their story.

"Well Kagome," Kouga said, holding Kagome's hands. "It was nice to see you again."

"Thanks for helping out Kouga." Kagome said, pulling her hands away from his. InuYasha was quietly growling.

"We need to get back to our pack. See you around!" Kouga and the rest of his pack took off.

The group sat around outside InuYasha's house. Kagome went around checking everyone's injuries and administered first aid. Except Sesshoumaru. He refused to have his few cuts tended to. He had checked Rin over, but allowed Kagome to bandage the several cuts Rin had received. A few drops of Sesshoumaru's blood had dripped unnoticed into one of Rin's cuts.

Hana and Sango started the food cooking as Kagome checked everyone over.

"That smells good," Toutousai said, sniffing the air. "Let's eat!"

"Oh, no you don't," Miroku said, making sure Toutousai stayed away from the food. "The last time we had dinner with you, you ate all the food."

"Who, me?" Toutousai asked innocently. "I don't remember."

"Yeah, I'll bet you don't," InuYasha groused.

Everyone, with one exception, served themselves. Miroku made sure Toutousai was last.

"So what are you going to do now?" Sango asked Hana. They were watching Kirara and the black cat play.

"I guess I'll go back home. So much has happened; I need to let my village know that everything is okay now." She paused and looked at Hi'Iki. "I've experienced things I never knew were possible."

"Since it's getting late, you won't want to leave now. You can stay with us for a few days and recover." Sango offered.

"I'd like that," Hana smiled. She liked these people. They were friendly, honest and always willing to help others out. Well, most of them.

"I'd like to know where this black cat came from." Rin said as she gave him some food.

"Mew?" The black cat looked at Rin, his head tilted to one side. He was almost the opposite of Kirara. All black, white markings where Kirara's was black, except the ears. And the lightning stripe on the head instead if the elongated diamond. His eyes were an electric blue color. Smiling, Rin gave him another piece of meat.

"Did anyone see what he did to the dragons?" Miroku asked.

"It looked like lightning," Rin said. The black cat had curled up at Rin's feet. He seemed to have adopted her.

"He does have a lightning shape stripe." Miroku observed.

"When he was transformed, the flames were blue instead of orange, like Kirara's." Sango had observed that earlier.

Hi'Iki stood up and stretched. "If you will all excuse me, I really need some sleep."

"We should all get some sleep." InuYasha also stood up. "Come on Kagome."

Kagome and Sango went to check on the children. Hana went with them.

Sesshoumaru found a tree to rest against. "Rin."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." She followed him and curled up on the ground next to him. The little black cat curled up with her.

Hi'Iki found a quiet place not far away and stretched out. Kodo and Podo, still in their cat forms, curled up with him.

After the noise of the afternoon, the quiet of the night was peaceful and soothing. Everyone was asleep with in minutes, except one. Sesshoumaru sat against the tree, thinking about the day's events and sorting through his emotions and feelings. By morning, he had come to some startling conclusions about himself.

Note:

The "Mind Magic" I made up. It just popped into my head to explain the lesser youkai attacking.

The age differences between humans and youkai are a big obstacle. We know that youkai live a long time, they are not immortal though, despite what Shippou says. They can die and they age. We also know youkai and humans can mate. But what would happen to a human if they were given youkai blood? Either accidentally or on purpose? My personal opinion on this is it would slow the aging process down in the human, and wounds would heal much faster.

One last note, for those who believe Sesshoumaru has a castle. RT says no. At least that is what the adinuyasha group discussion said. I myself could never picture him in a castle. The only reason I gave him one is because Kaede wouldn't let Rin leave with him if he didn't have a descent home for her. And yes, I can see her standing up to him.


	7. Chapter 7 The Prophesy

Chapter 7 The Prophesy

Sorry it took so long. This story was originally going to be two parts. Sessh and Rin was part one, Hi'Iki and Hana part two. The battle was going to be the bridge between the two. But I'm not that good of a writer. So I just combined them. So the next chapter will focus on Hi'Iki.

Chapter 7 The Prophesy

Rin woke to the early morning sun shining in her face. She sat up and stretched. Looking around, she realized Sesshoumaru wasn't there. Ah-un and Jaken were still asleep. She looked over to where Hi'Iki had slept. He was also gone.

"Mew?" Rin looked down to see the little black cat was still with her.

"Hungry?" she asked the cat, scratching him under the chin. The cat began to purr. "I am too." She stood up, feeling slightly dizzy. She braced herself against the tree until the feeling passed. She realized she felt slightly odd. Touching her forehead as Kagome had taught her, she felt slightly warm. 'Maybe I'm getting sick,' she thought. 'I better go see Kagome.' She made her way over to Kagome's house and knocked. "Hello, anyone up?"

"Hi Rin." Kagome called out. "Come in. Everyone went out, so I'm just getting breakfast ready." Rin went in, followed by the cat.

"I am hungry. So is my friend here," she pointed to the cat.

"He seems to like you. Are you keeping him?"

"I think that's up to him."

"You should give him a name," Kagome said, stirring the food.

"I was thinking of Hirameki. I think it suits him."

Kagome smiled, "Yeah that does suit him."

"Um, Kagome, I think I may be getting sick."

Kagome looked at Rin. "What makes you think so?" She looked closely at Rin's face, and noted she did seem to be slightly flushed.

"I felt slightly dizzy when I first got up, but that passed. Now I feel, I don't know, it's hard to describe."

"Just try." Kagome suspected a fever.

"Sort of warm and tingly." Rin shook her head.

Kagome felt Rin's forehead. "You do feel slightly warm. Let me see your scratches." Kagome thought maybe they were getting infected.

Rin held her arm out for Kagome to inspect. Kagome frowned. The gash on Rin's forearm was almost completely healed.

"How can this be?" She looked at her own. They were barely scabbed over.

"What? What's wrong?" Kagome's reaction worried her.

"I don't know. Do you usually heal this fast?"

Rin frowned and looked at the gash. "No."

Kagome sat back and thought. What would make Rin heal so fast? 'No one heals that fast, except InuYasha and….could that be it?'

"Rin, do you remember if Sesshoumaru checked you over? After the battle?"

Rin nodded. "Yes, before he let you look at me. Why?"

"Was he bleeding?"

"He may have been. Everyone had injuries. Why? What's wrong Kagome?"

"I think it's possible that some of Sesshoumaru's blood got into your gash."

"But what would that have to do with…?" Rin's eyes got big as it occurred to her what that meant. "What will this do to me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't know. As far as I know, this has never happened before."

The meadow looked peaceful as the early morning sun peeked above the trees, sparkling on the lake.

"You'd never know anything happened here," Miroku observed of their handy work.

The guys had gone to clean up the dead bodies left from the battle. Hi'Iki had said it would be a good idea to burn everything. They wanted no evidence of the battle left. Hi'Iki was pretty sure they got all but a few of the dragons, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could use something to eat," InuYasha said.

"I second that," Miroku agreed. He was still sore from the battle. His own injuries still bothered him. He knew InuYasha, Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki would all be healed by now.

Sesshoumaru stood a little ways away from the others. He was still thinking of what he discovered about himself. He would never admit to what he leaned to anyone except maybe Rin. His hatred of humans, and InuYasha in particular was gone. He found that some humans, and a certain hanyou, he could tolerate, and were even worthy of his respect. Not that he'd ever tell InuYasha that. Rin was a big influence in this change, but he suspected Hi'Iki's return was the catalyst to complete the change. The biggest surprise to him was he had learned compassion. Rin, and Kagura to some degree, had taught him he was capable of compassion and caring. As Rin had once said to Jaken, Sesshoumaru's heart was "strong and kind". He'd never really understood what she meant until now. It wasn't a change that was obvious to anyone, as Sesshoumaru wasn't one to show his emotions or express them. However, his actions spoke loudly. He realized that the others knew he had changed to some degree and accepted him as part of their extended family.

They headed back to the village for some much needed food. Hana and Sango and Shippou joined them for breakfast. The kids were out playing, happy that the adults were no longer tense and worried about some danger.

Everyone sat outside, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

As Kagome served the food, she nonchalantly asked if any knew what happens when youkai blood mixes with human blood.

"What do you mean? You're not talking about hanyou are you?" InuYasha looked at her, frowning.

Sesshoumaru was also frowning. He guessed there was something more to this question and suspected it had to do with Rin. He had not joined the group, but was close enough to join any conversation should he feel the need.

"Rin, show them your injuries."

Rin held her arm out for the others to inspect.

"In my village, we were taught to clean off the youkai blood as soon as possible, to avoid contamination." Hana had always believed youkai were evil, until she met this bunch of humans and youkai.

"How do you feel, Rin?" Hi'Iki asked.

"Fine now. I was dizzy and felt kind of warm and tingly earlier."

"I guess my uncle was right," Hi'Iki said. "Apparently youkai blood, especially a really powerful one, has healing properties that works on humans as well."

"So what does that mean for Rin?" Kagome asked.

"My uncle had explained to me that when a youkai's blood mixes with a human, the human heals faster, and ages slower. I would imagine that how slow they age or how well they heal depends on the human and youkai, and the amount of blood mixed."

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin's injuries. His frown was replaced by his usual blank mask. He was relieved to hear what Hi'Iki had to say. He didn't want Rin to change; he liked her just the way she was. Fortunately, his blank mask did not reveal the startling admission that just went through his mind.

"So nothing will happen to me?" Rin asked quietly.

"No. You probably won't get sick, and any injuries will heal like this did." He pointed to her arm. "As for the aging part, I don't know for sure."

Rin was relieved as well. She didn't want to change because of the changes it would have meant for her life.

"Mew?" The little black cat looked at Rin imploringly. Rin smiled and gave him some food.

Everyone's attention was now on the black cat.

"Where did that cat come from?" InuYasha asked.

"He showed up in the middle of the battle yesterday," Hana said.

"Has anyone ever seen him before?" Sango asked. She noticed Kirara liked him, and he seemed to like Kirara.

A chorus of "No's" followed.

"Well, he really seems to like Rin," Miroku observed. "Are you going to keep him?"

"I'd like to." Rin looked at Sesshoumaru. He gave a slight nod. "If he wants to stay." The little cat snuggled against Rin.

"Do you remember Kuroro?" Shippou asked. That was an incident he'd never forget. He really liked Koume, the little girl who took care of Kuroro.

"Yes, I remember. I wonder if he's the father of her kits." Sango said thoughtfully. "I wonder if Kirara would mate with him. They seem to like each other."

The two cats had started playing with a ball, batting it around and pouncing on it.

"Rin." Sesshoumaru was restless and decided it was time to go home.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru.

"It's time to go." He looked at Hi'Iki. "You coming?"

Hi'Iki nodded. He grabbed Rin's hand and pulled her up with him.

Sesshoumaru turned and walked away.

"Thank you Kagome," Rin said. "For everything."

"You're welcome, Rin." Kagome gave her a hug. "Better get going."

Rin, followed by the black cat, hurried after Sesshoumaru.

"Thank you for a wonderful meal, Kagome," Hi'Iki said graciously, as everyone else stood up to say good-bye.

"We should be thanking you," Kagome replied, somewhat embarrassed by his praise.

"Why? I didn't do anything."

"You saved us from the dragons."

"Oh, that. All in a day's work." He shrugged. "Now I guess I should go back to my search," he said, looking at Hana. "I hope we meet again," he took Hana's hands in his. "It was a pleasure working with you."

"It was an experience," Hana agreed, pulling her hands away. She felt somewhat flustered by Hi'Iki's attention.

With a flourishing bow and a bright smile, he turned and walked after Sesshoumaru.

"Quite a character, isn't he?" Miroku said.

"Yes." Hana agreed.

"So Hana, what are your plans?" Sango asked.

"I don't know. Go home I suppose." There wasn't much there for her, as most of the village had been destroyed by the dragons. Most of her family had been killed.

"Stay with us for awhile," Sango suggested.

Hana nodded after some thought. "I'd like that." It had been some time since she had been able to just relax and visit with other people. She could use the rest.

Hi'Iki trotted to catch up with Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru had decided to walk back. It would be dark when they got home, but Sesshoumaru needed time to think.

Rin was riding Ah-un and Jaken was mumbling to himself and looking around.

Hi'Iki looked around as well, realizing Kodo and Podo were nowhere to be seen. Off to one side, the grass was waving around, as though something were slinking through it. Hi'Iki guessed Kodo and Podo had reverted to their ferret form. Which meant trouble for Jaken.

"What are your plans?" Sesshoumaru asked when Hi'Iki caught up with him.

"Well, there's still the mate issue. I need to find one soon. My uncle isn't doing well, and I'm supposed to take over the clan."

Sesshoumaru glanced at Hi'Iki. "What about the youkai slayer, Hana?" Hi'Iki had seemed interested in Hana, which pleased Sesshoumaru, as it took Hi'Iki's attention away from Rin.

"Oh, I don't know," Hi'Iki said slowly, thinking. "She didn't seem interested." Hi'Iki knew why Sesshoumaru had mentioned it. The fact that he said anything at all was a clear sign Sesshoumaru had feelings for Rin, whether he knew it or not. 'Getting him to admit isn't going to be easy. But should be fun.' Hi'Iki silently formulated a plan to make Sesshoumaru realize he had feelings for Rin.

The long walk back to the castle was uneventful. Everyone basically kept to their own thoughts. Kodo and Podo did liven things up a bit, teasing Jaken.

"Get away, you pesky beasts!" Jaken yelled as the two ferrets would sneak up on him and try to grab his staff. They once tried to get his hat off his head. Jaken waved the staff around, threatening to blast them with fire.

Rin and Hi'Iki had a hard time keeping straight faces. They both finally had to laugh at Jaken. Jaken glared at Hi'Iki. "This is your fault! You let them do it!"

Still laughing, Hi'Iki called the two ferrets. "Come on you two. Stop pestering Jaken." The two changed into the dragonettes forms and sat on Hi'Iki's shoulders.

Sesshoumaru ignored the whole episode, but he wasn't too happy about Rin laughing with Hi'Iki.

It was dark when they finally reached the castle. Rin had once again fallen asleep on Ah-un. She woke when Ah-un stopped.

"Are we home?" she asked in a sleepy voice. She wasn't feeling too good either, her back hurt and she was starting to get cramps. 'Oh great.' She thought, realizing that she was getting her "period". She had forgotten all about it being that time of the month with everything that had happened. All she wanted was to get into her room and sleep.

"Yes," Hi'Iki said, helping her down. He caught the scent of her monthly cycle. From the way Sesshoumaru was glaring at him, Hi'Iki figured Sesshoumaru also smelled it.

"Thank you," Rin said as she steadied herself, using Hi'Iki for support. She then made her way inside. The little black cat followed. She missed the look Sesshoumaru gave Hi'Iki. She got herself ready for bed and prepared for the bleeding that was sure to start soon. The black cat curled up with her.

Sesshoumaru settled himself in the main room. He could see Rin's room from where he sat.

Hi'Iki came in, yawning. He settled himself across from Sesshoumaru without a word and went to sleep.

Sesshoumaru watched him for a moment, thinking. In the past 24 hours, he'd learned more about himself than he would have thought possible. It was because of Hi'Iki that he started thinking about things; things that he had avoided or ignored for the last year or so. He needed to sort out his feelings, like why it bothered him so much when Hi'Iki paid attention to Rin. So for the second time, he sorted through his feelings. And came up with the same conclusions as before; he had changed.

Rin was exhausted. But she couldn't sleep. The cramps kept her awake. Her mind decided to focus on her feelings. Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki were main reasons for the feelings. She liked Hi'Iki. He was fun, made her laugh, and was thoughtful and nice. Not at all like Sesshoumaru. She wondered what it would be like to leave Sesshoumaru and travel with Hi'Iki. But the thought of leaving Sesshoumaru made her stomach clench up in knots. She finally fell asleep wondering what her chances were of Sesshoumaru ever loving her.

Rin woke early. She really needed to go wash herself in the hot spring. The bleeding had started and she felt unclean. Getting her stuff, she went into the main room.

"Daira, you're back!" Daira was serving tea. She gave the gentle youkai a hug.

"Would you like me to make you something?" Daira asked.

"Yes please. I need a bath first."

Daira nodded. "I'll have something ready for you when you get back."

"Morning." Hi'Iki greeted her as she went past.

"Morning." Rin smiled and made her way out to the hot spring. Sesshoumaru was no where to be seen. She wondered where he went. Then she remembered he always left on patrol when she had her period. Rin wasn't sure why he left, but figured it was because of the mood swings and smell. She had no idea that male youkai found her scent intriguing.

The hot spring made her feel much better. She took her time as the hot water was relaxing and took the cramps. It also made her hungry.

Hi'Iki considered the new development with Rin. This was going to be more interesting than he thought. He'd have to be careful though. He didn't want to get Sesshoumaru too mad. Sesshoumaru had a habit of lashing out when he was angry and Hi'Iki didn't want to be on the lashing end of that anger. Any interaction with Rin would have to be carefully considered. Showing too much interest might have the wrong effect; on both Rin and Sesshoumaru. Hi'Iki knew that Rin was also going through emotional upheaval concerning Sesshoumaru. He didn't want to give Rin the wrong idea either.

Rin made her way back to the castle, thinking about Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki. Hi'Iki was the complete opposite of Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru was reserved, quiet, didn't really pay much attention to others feelings, and had no sense of humor. For over a year, she had had thoughts of doing things with Sesshoumaru. At first she had no real idea what she'd do other than kissing. The romance novel Kagome had given her gave her more ideas. So she fantasized about Sesshoumaru. Hi'Iki was outgoing, friendly, talkative, sensitive to others, and funny. She wondered what it would be like to be with someone who was as outgoing as Hi'Iki. Her thoughts and feelings had her very confused.

She was still trying to figure out her feelings when she got back. Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki were on the porch, talking. Rin was surprised to see Sesshoumaru still there. She had thought he had left, as she hadn't seen him anywhere.

"I have a couple of prospects," Hi'Iki was saying. He smiled at Rin as she came up on the porch. She smiled back, but kept going. Daira had fixed something for her and she was hungry. She had noticed Sesshoumaru seemed a little tense. She guessed it was because of her monthly cycle and he hadn't left because Hi'Iki was still visiting.

"There's always the youkai slayer." Sesshoumaru was feeling edgy. It bothered him that Hi'Iki was the cause of his feelings. He liked Hi'Iki and completely trusted him. Yet the thought of Rin leaving with Hi'Iki made Sesshoumaru want to lash out at something. 'Why does Hi'Iki's interest in Rin bother me?' 'Because I don't want Rin to leave. I like having her here.' The thought startled him. This was the second time such a thought caught him off guard.

"She's not very fond of youkai," Hi'Iki remarked.

Rin finished the warm breakfast Daira had fixed for her and decided to enjoy the morning sun. She still felt tired but thought the warm sun would brighten her up. She decided on working in her garden. Hi'Iki was still on the porch. He smiled at her as she went by and she smiled back. 'Sesshoumaru-sama never smiles at me like that,' she thought. 'It would be nice if he did though.' She liked the attention, but wondered what Sesshoumaru thought of it.

Hi'Iki stayed on the porch. He didn't want to antagonize Sesshoumaru by following Rin around.

This was how the day went. Hi'Iki and Sesshoumaru on the porch, keeping an eye on each other and Rin going about her daily routine, completely unaware of the silent contest between the two men. Every time Rin passed by Hi'Iki he would either smile or make a complimentary comment about her. Rin would smile back or blush and thank Hi'Iki. Sesshoumaru got tenser. Not once did it occur to Sesshoumaru to smile at or compliment Rin.

As evening approached, Rin helped Daira fix dinner.

"Dinner is ready," Rin let the two men know. She noticed Sesshoumaru was tense and wondered why.

"I'm not hungry." Sesshoumaru's response was short and terse.

Rin was surprised by Sesshoumaru's response.

"Thank you," Hi'Iki said. "I'll have a bite to eat." He went in to get the food, but came back out to eat. He didn't want to go too far in his scheme to get Sesshoumaru to realize he had feelings for Rin.

The rest of the evening was a quiet one. Sesshoumaru kept an eye on Hi'Iki, Hi'Iki stayed away from Rin and Rin tried to figure out why the two men seemed at odds with each other. Jaken, feeling the tenseness between the two, went out, not wanting to get in between any confrontation that might happen.

Rin sat and combed her hair. It was getting late and she was tired. She thought if she went to bed, Sesshoumaru might feel less bothered. The only answer she could come with up for Sesshoumaru being bothered was her monthly cycle.

Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki sat for a while after Rin went to bed, without talking. Then Hi'Iki said, "She really is a nice woman." He studied Sesshoumaru's reaction.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and growled.

Hi'Iki knew now was the time to leave. Hopefully, Sesshoumaru would accept his feelings. Right now, Hi'Iki knew if he stayed, Sesshoumaru would end up losing control and lashing out at someone.

Sesshoumaru wanted to lash out at something. He decided it would be best if he got away from everyone so he could think clearly. He needed time to clear his head and calm down. Without a word, Sesshoumaru got and left.

Hi'Iki watched him leave, called to Kodo and Podo, and headed back to the village.

When Rin came out for breakfast she was disappointed to find everyone but Jaken gone.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, feeling lonely.

"I don't know! No one tells me anything!" Jaken complained.

"Will Hi'Iki-sama be back?"

"How should I know!? They were gone when I woke up!" Jaken didn't like being left out.

Rin sighed. She had hoped Hi'Iki would stay longer. "I wish Sesshoumaru-sama was more like Hi'Iki," she voiced her thoughts without thinking.

"Why would you think that?" Jaken was shocked at such a thought. "Silly girl, Sesshoumaru-sama will never be like Hi'Iki-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't consider humans worth his attention. He will never like humans as Hi'Iki-sama does!"

"But he…" she started to say but Jaken interrupted her.

"Sesshoumaru-sama only tolerates you, you silly girl!" With that parting statement, Jaken stomped off. He had no idea what hurt his words just caused.

Rin ran into her room, crying. Even though Jaken's words hurt, she thought Jaken was right. She was only tolerated by everyone here. She thought about Hi'Iki. Hi'Iki actually liked her. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to be with people who liked her. She couldn't stand to be here anymore. To love someone who barely tolerated her caused more pain than she could handle. Looking around her room, she saw nothing she wanted to take. She couldn't just leave though. She felt she owed it to Sesshoumaru to at least tell him she couldn't stay anymore. So she wrote a quick note:

"_Sesshoumaru-sama, _

_I am sorry, I cannot stay anymore. It is too painful for me to live here._

_Thank you for taking care of me._

_I will always remember you._

_Rin"_

With tears in her eyes, Rin left. She practically ran out. Stopping in the woods, she thought about what she should do. 'Find Hi'Iki-sama. He'll help me.' she thought. Although it took a while, Rin managed to find Hi'Iki. She guessed he would head for the village, so that's the way she went. She knew some short cuts, so she was able to catch up with him.

Hi'Iki was taking his time, in no hurry to get to the village. Kodo and Podo started getting excited and Hi'Iki looked for the cause. He was surprised to see Rin heading in his direction. He waited for her to catch up with him.

"Rin, what are you doing here? Where's Sesshoumaru?" He realized she was crying. "What's wrong?"

"I can't take it anymore," she said through her tears.

"What do you mean?" Hi'Iki suspected he knew.

"I can't live with Sesshoumaru-sama anymore. I can't live with someone who doesn't like me." 'Damn! My ploy may have worked too well,' Hi'Iki thought. "If Rin really wishes to leave, that's really going to mess things up.'

"Calm down, Rin." Hi'Iki took her hands. "Sesshoumaru didn't do anything to you did he?"

Rin shook her head. "He wasn't there."

"What makes you think he doesn't like you?"

"He doesn't like humans. And I'm human." She cried harder.

"Give Sesshoumaru a chance. He's changed. You never know, he might like you." Hi'Iki didn't want to reveal what he knew. Sesshoumaru had to do that himself.

Sessh came back after he had finally calmed down. He knew the anger he felt was caused by the thought that Rin would leave with Hi'Iki. He didn't want Rin to leave. He like her and wanted her to stay.

The castle appeared empty when he got back. Worried, he looked inside and found no one. Concerned, he checked Rin's room. His concern was well founded. Rin was gone. He noticed a piece of paper on the small table and looked at it. It was a note from Rin. Sesshoumaru read the note.

With a growl, he slammed the note down, breaking the table.

'Why Rin? I don't understand why you left.' He looked at the damage he had caused.

Her leaving caused a pain he'd experienced once before. His mother had been the cause of the pain. But she had been able to fix it. This was a pain of his own doing and only he could fix it. He realized he has gotten so used to her being there; his life is empty without her.

Jaken came in when he heard the noise. He saw Sesshoumaru standing in Rin's room, looking at the mess.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, what happened?"

"Where's Rin?"

"I didn't know she was gone. She did say something about Hi'Iki liking her and how she wished you would. Silly girl."

Sesshoumaru continued to stare at the mess, thinking. He remembered something that happened a long time ago. The prophesy of the oracle, told to him so long ago, came back to him.

"_This battle will not be won with sword or claw or strength of arm. Your opponent will be unlike any you have ever faced before or will ever face again. Your prize for victory will be great indeed. In truth, it will be the greatest treasure you will ever possess. The great sword Tenseiga that you find so worthless will be the beginning and the end to this battle and whoa to thee if you do not heed it's council. Just when you think that all is lost and you are defeated, look again, for you will have won._".

This then was the battle, his opponent was himself. He understood the riddle now. The battle was with his heart and mind. This was a battle he'd been fighting for over a year and never knew it. Only now, after discovering things about himself, could he understand. For over a year, he had been avoiding the feelings he had; feelings for Rin. So now he understood. If his mind won, he would lose Rin. If his heart won, he would get Rin back. This was his dilemma. He had vowed never to be like his father, falling in love with a human. So what was more important? His vow? Or Rin? He thought about Tenseiga's role in this. Not only had Tenseiga brought Rin back from the dead, but had actually put him in a place where she would find him when he had been injured by InuYasha. And Rin had been the key that unlocked his heart, allowed him to find compassion. But how will Tenseiga help him now? As he was "fighting" this battle, Tenseiga pulsed. Softly at first, then more urgently. Listening to Tenseiga's council, he admitted to defeat. Tenseiga stopped pulsing.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken didn't understand what was going on.

Without a word, Sesshoumaru took off after Rin. The trail was easy to follow. It didn't take long before he came upon Rin and Hi'Iki talking. He stopped, anger surging through him when he saw Rin and Hi'Iki together. He had to calm himself down. It wouldn't do any good to be angry when talking to Rin. He saw Hi'Iki turn and look at him.

Hi'Iki sensed Sesshoumaru's presence and looked around. He saw Sesshoumaru standing a little ways away, looking angry and a little unsure of himself.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru." Hi'Iki backed away from Rin. He saw the look of determination on Sesshoumaru's face. "I'd best be on my way," he said, wanting to give Sesshoumaru and Rin time together. He was pleased to see that Sesshoumaru had finally accepted his feelings for Rin.

Rin turned, frowning. The last person she wanted to see was Sesshoumaru. She had no idea why he was there and wished he would leave. She was still upset and angry.

Hi'Iki very quietly slipped away, as Rin and Sesshoumaru stared at each other.

A little white owl perched in a tree above Rin and Sessh, unnoticed.

"Rin. Come back with me." He walked over to her.

"No! I can't live with you anymore!" Rin refused to budge.

Her words hurt more than anything.

"Is that what you truly wish?"

"Yes! I love you and can't live with you knowing you'll never love me back," Rin started crying again.

Sesshoumaru was surprised by her confession. She didn't know how he felt. And until now, he hadn't thought about how she felt.

"Rin."

"No!" Rin stopped crying and was now mad. "I said no!" she yelled at him. She attempted to slap him. He grabbed her hand, holding it gently. He now understood why she left.

"I don't want you to leave," he told her softly.

Rin wasn't exactly listening she was, trying to get her hand back.

Softly, Sesshoumaru continued, "I've never loved before. It's a new experience for me and I don't know how to show it. You'll have to teach me, if you're willing to stay."

Still crying, it took a minute for Rin to realize what Sesshoumaru just said. When it dawned on her what he said she stared at him in surprise.

"What? You, you're…?" She was unable to finish.

He nodded, still holding her hand. He let go of her hand.

Suddenly Rin started crying again. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you willing," he asked, "no matter how long it takes?"

"Yes, no matter how long."

The white owl flew out of the tree, still unnoticed.

Hi'Iki was pleased with himself when Podo told him what happened. His plan worked and he was delighted for the couple. He circled around, going back to the castle and waited for them to come back. He wanted to give Sesshoumaru some advice to help him with Rin. Then hopefully use that advice on himself with Hana.

Notes:

Hirameki, according to my dictionary means flash of lightning.

Hi'Iki is just a wealth of knowledge isn't he?

Jaken is completely clueless.

As for male youkai finding the human menstrual smell intriguing, I am basing it on animal behavior.

I do know where Hirameki comes from, but not sure if I should add it to the story.

I tried keeping Sesshoumaru in character. Since love is a new emotion to him, he will have to learn how to deal with it. They both are inexperienced in love, they will have to learn together. And sorry, I'm not one to have them get romantic right away.


	8. Chapter 8 Hi'Iki and Hana

_**Sorry it has taken me so long to write this. The part between Sesshoumaru and Rin was hard, Hana's even harder. And no lemon yet, sorry. Then there's the idea I have for a short story that takes place in modern times with Sesshoumaru and Rin. **_

Chapter 8 Hi'Iki and Hana

Rin put her hands on Sesshoumaru's chest and gave a gentle push.

"What?"

"You're armor. It makes it difficult to give you a descent hug," Rin explained. She looked up at Sesshoumaru. Her face was tear stained; her eyes were red from crying. Yet she had the most beautiful smile on her face.

'All because of me,' Sesshoumaru thought. He reached out and gently wiped the tear streaks away. "Let's go home."

He started walking through the woods, Rin following. Suddenly he stopped and Rin almost bumped into him. Sesshoumaru took Rin's hand and gently pulled her next to him.

"Here." He said, letting go of her hand. "Not behind me."

Perplexed, Rin did as he said. Usually the women walk behind the men.

Sesshoumaru continued slowly through the sun dappled woods. Birds were singing but he didn't really hear them. He was thinking.

"Why me?" he asked.

The question caught Rin by surprise. "Why do I love you?" she asked, making sure that's what he meant.

Sesshoumaru nodded.

Rin thought a moment. "It can't be said in one word. I love you for many reasons. Love itself is hard to explain; it just happens."

Sesshoumaru thought about why he loved Rin. He couldn't come up with just one simple answer.

"What are the many reasons?" He wanted to understand why Rin felt the way she did.

"You are kind hearted, gentle, you protect me, care for me. It's more than that, but you can't put it all into words. It's hard to explain."

Sesshoumaru continued walking, thinking. Occasionally he glanced at Rin. Once she looked at him and smiled, lightly touching his arm. The touch was oddly comforting.

"You don't consider me an evil youkai?"

Rin looked up at him in surprise. "No. You aren't evil." She thought about her family. "I've seen what evil people do. You are not at all like them."

"I am not very," he paused to get the right word. "Sociable."

"It doesn't matter. You're sociable enough with me. That's what counts."

"Love is a confusing emotion. I've spent most of my life thinking it a useless emotion, for the weak." He looked at Rin. "My Father died protecting a human he loved. I didn't want to be like him."

"And now?" Rin was curious about hearing this part of Sesshoumaru's life.

"I understand a little why he did what he did."

"Is that why you hated humans?" She really wanted to know but had never tried asking before.

Sesshoumaru stopped walking. A memory surfaced. One he hadn't thought about in years, and had tried to forget.

Rin saw the look of unpleasantness cross his face. She lightly touched his arm. "I didn't mean to pry. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay."

Sesshoumaru was surprised by her reaction. It didn't occur to him that anyone might care about how he felt. He hesitated, then said, "It was a long time ago. I think I was about the equivalent of your age when you first found me. Hi'Iki and I were together. I decided to explore further, Hi'Iki headed home. It was dark and I got disoriented at one point and wasn't sure which way was home. Just as I got my bearings, a group of bandits caught me. If Hi'Iki hadn't arrived when he did, they would have killed me. The bandits weren't prepared to fight off even a small dragon." That had been the only time Sesshoumaru had seen Hi'Iki's true form. Turning into their true form was something they had to master and neither of them had mastered it yet. Hi'Iki's transformation had been a fluke, caused by his need to help his friend. "We agreed never to say anything about it."

This revelation surprised Rin more than anything. It explained a lot about Sesshoumaru's attitude and feelings. "That must have been frightening for you."

"That's when I started hating humans and thinking they were worthless."

"So what happened with your Father just added to the hate you already felt." She smiled at him. "I'm glad you were able to get past that."

"I think I have a lot to learn about humans." He looked at Rin. "This could take some time."

"We have plenty of time," Rin said, smiling.

Sesshoumaru liked having Rin next to him. Her presence felt comforting. He had no great plans now, despite what Jaken seemed to think. All Sesshoumaru ever really wanted was to be greater than his Father, and that he had accomplished. Now the new challenge in his life was to learn about humans, at least one special human.

They arrived back home to find Hi'Iki waiting for them.

Grinning, Hi'Iki got up and went to greet them.

Sesshoumaru suspected Hi'Iki knew.

"Sesshoumaru, Rin. I'm glad you made it back before I left." He took Rin's hands and smiled. "Congratulations."

"You knew," Sesshoumaru said. It didn't bother him that Hi'Iki was holding Rin's hands. He knew now that Hi'Iki had seen what he had not. "How long did you know?"

Hi'Iki grinned. "Almost from the start."

Rin was surprised. "You didn't say anything!"

"He had to learn it on his own." He let go of Rin's hands and gave her a hug. He walked over to Sesshoumaru. "She's just what you needed. Take care of her."

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin. She smiled back at him. "Always." He turned back to Hi'Iki. "Don't you have a mate to find?"

"Someone to convince to be my mate you mean." Hi'Iki knew it was Hana, but whether or not Hana agreed was the question. "I'd best be on my way."

"Now?" Rin asked. "It's kind of late."

"That's okay. I'm not worried about traveling at night." He gave Rin another hug. "Next time I come by I want to know what new things you've learned," he said, smirking at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Don't wait so long next time."

Hi'Iki grinned. "I won't!" He gave his friends a flourishing bow. "Until next time!"

He made his way back to the village. He was sorry to be leaving Sesshoumaru and Rin, but they needed time by themselves, and he had a mate to find. He new Hana was the right one, but convincing her of that was not going to be easy. She had her own issues to deal with and he wanted to help her with them.

Time was important, but he didn't rush. He would get to the village by morning and that was soon enough. He had to think of what to say to Hana. He was fairly certain she'd turn him down. As he walked down the mountain and through the forest, his mind was on what he needed to say. He trusted Kodo and Podo to alert him to any trouble. As his hike was at night, he expected some interference. But apart from a few lesser youkai trying to make a meal of Hi'Iki, nothing happened.

The morning sun was just peeking above the trees when he arrived at his destination. He saw Miroku and the children and headed their way.

"Good morning," he greeted them.

"Good morning. What brings you back to our humble little village?" Miroku asked. He was entertaining the boisterous youngsters while Sango and Hana were busy.

"I am looking for Hana."

"She and Sango are checking out weapons." Miroku said, pointing the way.

"Thanks." Hi'Iki smiled at the children as he went past. They smiled and waved at him.

Hi'Iki found the two women behind the house, inspecting the weapons.

"Lovely ladies shouldn't be working so early in the morning."

The two women turned at the sound of his voice. "Hi'Iki! What are you doing here?" Sango asked.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Hi'Iki said, "I have come to ask Hana something."

"What would you ask of me?" Hana wanted to know.

Hi'Iki joined the two women. "Before the trouble with the dragons, I was searching for a mate. I'm to take over the leadership of our clan. However, it's a jointly ruled clan so I have to have a mate."

Sango looked from Hi'Iki to Hana. This was best discussed between to the two of them she felt and excused herself.

Hana looked a little nervous as Sango left. "So why are you telling me?"

"My Uncle, who isn't in the best of health, asked me to take over the clan from him. We are open minded about most things, including who to ask to be our mates. My Uncle's mate is human. So I'm here to ask you to be my mate."

"Me!? Oh no, I couldn't." Hana looked surprised and frightened. "I couldn't possibly be…"

"It's okay Hana. I understand." He reached out and gently touched her arm. "Just think about it."

Hana shook her head. "My whole life has been fighting youkai and dragons in particular and you are both." She looked at Hi'Iki. He had a sad look on his face. "I'll think about it."

Hi'Iki nodded. "I'll be leaving shortly. I have to go see about the dragons that got away."

"Why? They shouldn't be a threat now should they?"

"That's what I have to determine. Think about it while I'm gone." He turned and quickly left. He had expected such an answer but it still hurt. He didn't want to push her into making a decision. So he felt it would be best to leave. He had told her the truth about needing to check on the dragons. He didn't know how long it would take, but he hoped the people here would influence her to some degree into making the right choice.

Hana went back to the house, confused. She was sad to see Hi'Iki leave yet what he asked was impossible for her to give. How could she be the mate of someone she fought against her entire life? True, he wasn't someone she actually fought against, but his kind was. 'And just what kind is that?' a voice in her mind demanded. 'Youkai are evil and want only to hurt us.' This idea had been drilled into her from birth. 'He's a youkai, youkai are supposed to be evil.' She thought to herself. 'And has this youkai done anything to show he is evil?' No she thought. He'd been nothing but kind.

"Hana, are you okay?" Sango saw her approaching.

Hana looked up at her. "Yes, I guess. Hi'Iki left. He said he had to make sure the dragons wouldn't come back."

"So what else did he say?"

"He said," Hana stopped. The thought made her afraid and sad at the same time. "He said he wanted me to be his mate."

'Poor girl' Sango thought. 'She's so confused about it.' She took Hana's arm and led her into the house. "Here, I'll make you some tea." Sango started preparing tea. Miroku came in.

"What's going on?" Looking from Sango to Hana, he guessed something happened.

"Hi'Iki left." Sango said, giving Hana her tea. Sango then took Miroku by the arm and took him outside. They went a little ways away from the house so Hana wouldn't hear anything.

"Hi'Iki asked her to be his mate."

"Ordinarily I would have said that was great news. So why isn't it good news?" Miroku was mystified by this turn of events.

"Remember, Hana comes from a village that doesn't accept youkai as we do. Her whole life was spent exterminating them. And on top of that, her family was killed by dragons. Hi'Iki is exactly what her whole life has been spent trying to destroy." Sango shook her head.

"I think they'd make a good couple."

"You think Sesshoumaru and Rin would make a good couple!"

"Well they would," Miroku said defensively.

"And how likely is that?"

"You never know."

"In any case, I think we should help Hana make a choice."

"How?"

"By making her see not all youkai are evil, and neither are all dragons."

"Hmm, the youkai part I can see, but what about the dragon part?"

"I don't know, I'll think of something."

They went back to see how Hana was doing.

"So what are you going to do now Hana?" Miroku asked politely as he and Sango sat down to have tea with her.

"I'm not sure. I don't really want to go home by myself. It's a long way to travel alone." She thought about how she had had a mission on her journey out and traveling alone hadn't bothered her. Now, the thought of traveling alone bothered her.

As they finished their tea, a voice from the doorway asked if any tea was left.

"Kohaku!" Sango got up and grabbed her brother in a big hug.

"Nice to see you too, Sis." Kohaku returned the hug.

Sango poured him some tea. "Hana, this is my brother, Kohaku."

Hana smiled. "Hello."

"Hana came here looking for dragons," Sango explained.

"Oh, I heard something about dragons warring with everyone. Do you know what happened?"

"Yeah, they learned the hard way not to mess with us." InuYasha and Kagome came in with Shippou.

"What's to eat?" Shippou asked. "Hi Kohaku. What are you doing here?"

"I'm done with my teachings. So I came for a visit." Kohaku greeted InuYasha and Kagome as well.

"So what will you do now?" Sango asked.

Hana watched the interaction between the friends. It still amazed her that a youkai slayer could be friends with a hanyou and a youkai. She had fought with these people, learned to like them, even InuYasha and Shippou. But it was difficult to overcome her training.

"I was thinking of coming back here. Not that there's much work for a youkai slayer here."

"I noticed that," InuYasha said. "What's with the youkai around here anyway?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama told them to behave."

"He told them to behave!?" InuYasha was skeptical.

"Yeah. To protect Rin. The youkai know how powerful he is, so they behave."

"How do you know all this?" Shippou asked.

"From some of the youkai I've run into. Anyway, tell me what happened with the dragons?"

So Shippou, with added comments by InuYasha, Kagome and Miroku, told about the big fight with the dragons.

Hana listened to the recounting of the battle. They had worked well together, all of them. Even she had worked well with them. Humans and youkai working well together was something she would have never expected to work, yet here it did. Could it work for her? Could she be happy here, among both humans and youkai? She had worked well with Hi'Iki too, she thought. Thinking of Hi'Iki made her remember what he had said.

The next several weeks went by in a blur for Hana. Kohaku had gone back to his teacher for his last instructions and sent out to a village that needed his expertise.

Hana spent her time going out with InuYasha and Miroku, helping with the children or working on a garden of herbs and vegetables. Sometimes she was too busy to think about Hi'Iki. Other times she wondered where he was and how he was doing. She missed his friendly charm and wished he would come back.

One warm mid summer morning Hana was outside, mending one of her kimonos. It had been torn during one of the jobs they had of ridding villages of trouble making youkai. The others had gone on a trip, leaving Hana in charge of the shrine.

A rustling sound startled her and she looked up. The Oriental Dragon King was just settling down. He had a small object held carefully in his claws.

"Greetings Hana. I have been instructed to give this to you." He handed her the object.

Hana took it, realizing it was an egg, small and a blue grey mottled color. "What am I to do with this?" she asked.

"You must take it inside and put it where it is warm. It is about to hatch."

"Hatch?"

"Yes and soon. You must feed it right away when it hatches. Go now." The Dragon King waited to make sure she followed his orders, then left.

Hana took the little egg inside, putting it in some cloth and placing the whole thing next to the fire. "What am I to do with it?" she asked, looking out of the doorway. The Dragon King was gone. "Great. Now what do I do?" She sat down next to the egg, which began to rock back and forth. Within a few minutes it cracked. A small white head broke through the shell, and began to chirp. Soon it shook its way out of the shell, getting louder as it did so. Small wings flapped uncoordinatedly as the small creature demanded food. "It's a tiny dragon!" Hana exclaimed as she quickly found leftovers from the last meal and fed them to the little baby. The little dragonet ate until its belly became extended. Then it curled up in Hana's lap and promptly fell asleep.

Hana studied the little dragon. It looked much like Kodo and Podo. Podo mostly, as this one was white. Hana wondered if the little creature was a female, like Podo. "What am I to do with you?" she asked softly, stroking the sleeping dragon. Hana didn't dare move with baby in her lap, so she was stuck sitting in the house until the baby woke up. She wondered who had sent the egg, as the Dragon King had said he was instructed to give it to her. Hi'Iki perhaps? It made sense, as he was the only one who she knew had dragonets.

"What have you got there?" Miroku asked as he and Sango came in. They had been with InuYasha and Kagome, to see to Monk Mushin's shrine. Miroku had been there when Mushin had finally passed away and had promised to take care of the shrine.

The little dragon woke up and chirped before Hana could say anything. Bright blue eyes looked at Hana. The baby demanded food. 'I'm hungry!' Hana got an image in her mind of the baby eating. "It's thinking to me!" Hana was amazed. She fed the little dragon. She got another mental image, the dragonet was female. "She's a female."

"Thinking to you?"

"Yes. I get mental images. How extraordinary. I wonder if that's how Hi'Iki communicates with Kodo and Podo." Hana was excited about this interesting development.

"Probably." Miroku asked "How did you get her?"

"Oh. The Dragon King delivered her to me."

"The Dragon King was here?" Sango asked.

"Yes. He said he was asked to deliver this to me and that I was to take care of her."

"It looks like Podo, Hi'Iki's little dragon," Miroku said thoughtfully. "Could Hi'Iki have sent it to you?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself." Hana said. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed this was Hi'Iki's way of letting her know he hadn't forgotten her and to remind her of his request.

"Why would he send you a baby dragon though?" Miroku asked.

"To help me get over my fear of dragons," Hana said, almost to herself.

Miroku and Sango looked at each other. They had been trying for a month to figure out how to get Hana over her fears so she could say yes to Hi'Iki. This was perfect.

The little dragon ate her fill and was looking around curiously. She chirped and hopped off Hana's lap, clumsily walking around. She managed to get her nose into everything that was with in reach. She checked out Miroku and Sango, and apparently decided they were acceptable. She explored a bit more, then wobbled back to Hana, curled up in her lap and went to sleep.

"We'll go over to Kagome's," Sango said quietly. "So we don't disturb her."

Hana nodded. She was delighted with her new found companion. She had been given a precious gift. She wasn't afraid of this little dragon. The little dragon depended on her, trusted and accepted her. She wondered if Hi'Iki had felt this way when he had gotten Kodo and Podo. Thinking of Hi'Iki, she thought about his request. She went over it several times. She liked Hi'Iki. They had worked well together. He certainly wasn't what she had been led to expect about youkai. He most certainly wasn't evil, 'unless you consider his charm evil' she thought, smiling to herself. Every youkai she had met here wasn't evil. Even Sesshoumaru. While he wasn't outright friendly, he wasn't evil. She wished Hi'Iki would come back. She wanted to thank him for the little dragon.

Notes:

Remember, Sessh is a child/pup/youngster when he is attacked by the bandits, he wouldn't have the power he does now. Or at least not the control. I am guessing having control over your power takes training; even the ability to transform takes a certain amount of training.

I'm reading the Dragonriders of Pern series and it gave me the idea of the baby dragon gift.


	9. Chapter 9 Hi'Iki's Trip

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story.

This chapter will be all Hi'Iki and Hana. Don't worry, the next chapter will have Sessh and Rin!

Chapter 9 Hi'Iki's Trip

Sun sparkled on the great iridescent white dragon as he soared loftily through the wispy clouds. The two rows of rainbow scales shined brightly when the sun hit them just right. The two smaller dragons that accompanied the white dragon flitted around him, sometimes perching on the great white dragon's neck to save energy. They were like black and white dots flitting around the huge dragon.

The dragon went into a sudden dive, causing the small black dragon to squawk, surprised, at the larger dragon. The white dragon hissed in laughter. He sent an image of landing to the two smaller dragons. The little black dragon went into a spiraling dive, following the larger white dragon down. The second smaller dragon, also white, was already on the ground.

Hi'Iki wanted to stop off at the Tibetan Monk's place to have a little chat about his background. He was also tired from his journey of following the last of the Northern Horned Mountain Dragons.

Hi'Iki had found a nest of eggs and destroyed them. The female had come after him and they had fought. He had been hard pressed to kill the dragon. She was an angry mother. The fight had lasted several days in the mountains of Europe, high up in the snow covered peaks. Hi'Iki used all of his skills to separate and kill each dragon individually. The mother dragon was the last of all the European clans. Hi'Iki felt bad about killing them, but he didn't want a repeat of what had already happened in Japan.

So now he was stopping for some much needed rest and information. He had been intrigued by what the Dragon King had said about his family and had decided to find out more.

The two dragons landed on an icy ledge overlooking a small valley below. Podo was waiting and scolded them for taking too long.

Hi'Iki laughed at her once he was in human form. "Cold little one?" he asked with a smile. "Come then, we shall impose upon the monks and warm up." Hi'Iki looked down the valley to where the temple stood. He could just make out several monks sitting outside, performing their afternoon ritual chant.

He carefully followed the almost hidden path that led down to the valley and made his way to the temple.

He was greeted by Shanshita, an extremely old monk, who also happened to be a Tibetan Dragon youkai.

"Ah, Hi'Iki you have returned. Come, let us have some tea and tell me what brings you here." The Monk led the way into the temple. The other Monks ignored them, going about their daily business. They were accustomed to the unusual, so Hi'Iki's presence, or that of the little dragonets, didn't faze them.

As Hi'Iki and the Monk got settled with their tea and talked, Kodo and Podo found a quiet corner to rest in. They chirped and twittered to each other before settling down. The two little dragonets had been upset by Hana's refusal to become Hi'Iki's mate. So they took the initiative to do something about it.

"So you met the Dragon King. What do you think of him?" Shanshita was curious about the fight with the dragons and the out come.

"Intelligent, thoughtful and seemed very knowledgeable about spirituality. He told me things I hadn't expected."

"Yes. The Oriental dragon clan is very spiritually oriented. They prefer Harmony over conquest. So the European dragons are no more?"

"Sadly, yes. Those that didn't migrate were wiped out by the Northern Mountain Horned Dragon Clan. Other than the White Dragon clan, I don't know of any others."

"That is too bad. They tried to take over here once, but the resident clan chased them out. Mountains here are too high and the air hard to breath. The dragons left. Some of the resident clan migrated to the islands. They took their philosophy with them." He looked at Hi'Iki speculatively. "What did he tell you?"

Hi'Iki leaned back in his chair. "What do you know about the Spirit Dragon?"

"It is thought that the Spirit Dragon's ancestors were taught by the Great Ashta here in Tibet." Shanshita smiled at the surprised look on Hi'Iki's face. "Your great grandfather and I were allowed to sit in on his teachings. We learned much." He watched as Hi'Iki thought about this information.

"It's a lot to take in," Hi'Iki said thoughtfully. He looked over to where Kodo and Podo had settled in. They were gone again.

"There is more," Shanshita explained how Hi'Iki became the spirit dragon because he is pure of spirit and has a compassionate heart. In the fight with the dragons, he killed to protect others, not himself. His spirit and heart react when others are in danger. "This is why you were the chosen one."

Hi'Iki shook his head. "I did what I did because it needed doing." He yawned and stretched. The two of them had been talking for several hours. "It's been a long night, I could use a rest."

"Certainly." Shanshita showed him to a room. "Your Hana is a descendant of Tibetan dragon youkai lines."

Startled, Hi'Iki stopped and looked at the monk. "She's human!"

"So she is. Her family line married into human families many centuries ago. The line is diluted; she has little or no youkai powers at all."

Suspicious, Hi'Iki asked, "How do you know this?"

Smiling, Shanshita answered "We know much. You must go back to Hana's village and talk to her family."

"Her family was killed by the dragons."

"Not all. One survived. You must speak with him."

Sighing Hi'Iki said "It doesn't make much difference. She refused me anyway."

"Don't worry about it. Just go do what I have told you. Your Uncle will be pleased."

Hi'Iki shook his head again. "Things just aren't what they seem."

"They never are. Sleep well my friend. I will see you before you leave."

Hi'Iki stretched out on the pallet that was in one corner of the room. His mind was spinning over the things he had learned. But his last thought before falling asleep was of Hana.

"Where are those two?" Hi'Iki had looked everywhere for the two dragonets. They had been behaving oddly ever since leaving Hana. They had disappeared several times on this trip, once for several days. They refused to show him what they were up to.

"I'm sure they will show up when they are ready," Shanshita said when Hi'Iki informed him of the missing dragonets.

Hi'Iki was worried about them though. "Their behavior has been very odd lately."

"I'm sure they know what they are doing. You'd best be going."

"Yes. I have some thinking to do."

"Go with Luck my friend."

Hi'Iki bowed and left. In deference to the other monks, he walked back to the ledge he had come in on before taking flight as a dragon.

Sure enough, the two wayward little dragonets showed up just as Hi'Iki left the valley. He continued his journey back to Japan.

The villagers were getting water at the river when the huge white dragon arrived.

They yelled and screamed as they saw the huge white dragon. Most ran and hid. A few grabbed any type of weapon they could find and faced the huge beast. The village headman was called and he came, his sword drawn. When he saw the dragon, he faced it with the sword at ready. He was scared but determined.

The dragon was actually beautiful. An iridescent white, with a row of rainbow colored scales on each side of the body. A bright blue crest ran from the back of the head to the shoulders. Flames flickered on either side of the tail. The dragon held the flaming tail up; the flames flickered in the air but didn't touch anything.

Before anyone could do anything, the dragon spoke.

"I have news of Hana," the dragon's voice was soft and whispery.

Startled by the announcement, the headman stepped forward.

"What do you know of my sister?"

"She is fine. The dragons she sought have been destroyed."

"Why should we believe what a dragon says?" Other villagers came out with more weapons to back the headman.

"I also hunted the dragons. Hana helped me."

"Not likely. She hates dragons."

"Yes, I know." There was laughter in the sibilant voice.

Frowning, the man said "What do you know of Hana?"

"Permit me." The dragon said. There was a flash of blue light, and a man stood where the dragon had been.

"I am Hi'Iki," the man said, smiling.

"You're a youkai." The headman said. It was disconcerting to hear a talking dragon one minute and a man the next.

"Yes. Hana had trouble with that at first. It took some getting used to working with me, but she did."

"What do you mean, work with you?"

"We hunted the dragons together. They were from a different country, invading here. They killed anyone who got in their way."

"Why would you fight them?"

"They killed my parents. They wanted to take over my clan's territory."

Hi'Iki was now surrounded by villagers, but chose to ignore them. He kept his attention on the headman.

"Hana told me about how her village was attacked by the dragons. She mentioned most of her village was killed, but she didn't mention any family survivors."

"I am Susaki, her brother."

Hi'Iki nodded. "I have come to tell you she is fine, staying with friends, and to ask permission to marry her." Hi'Iki knew this was going to be a big shock. These people were youkai slayers and considered youkai evil.

"You want to what?" Susaki couldn't believe what he just heard. "Do you know what we do?"

Grinning Hi'Iki said, "Yes, Hana mentioned the youkai slaying. She was able to get past the 'youkai are evil' thought." Hi'Iki's natural charm tended to win over most people.

Susaki thought a moment. "You could just as easily wipe us out and take Hana as slave."

"Apart from the fact that I don't go around killing innocent villagers, it would upset Hana. I don't want her unhappy. She's been through enough already." His voice softened when he spoke the last words.

Susaki was still suspicious of Hi'Iki. But he was beginning to have doubts. Youkai take what they want, they don't try to befriend humans. It's more their nature to take, at least that was what they had always believed. Yet here was a youkai who had appeared in their midst to talk, not take. Not only did this youkai actually ask permission to marry Hana, the emotion in his voice showed he cared about how Hana felt. It wasn't what he was used to.

"Why should we trust you?"

"You have no reason to, yet." Hi'Iki understood the reluctance in believing. Hana had had the same problem. Circumstances had changed her opinion. "If you permit me to stay, even under guard," he nodded at the villagers surrounding him, "you'll find not all youkai are evil."

Susaki looked at him, surprised. There were murmurs from the other villagers. This was unprecedented.

"You would be willing to be held captive just to prove we can trust you?"

"For Hana, yes." Hi'Iki had no qualms about being a captive. His own personality would win out, he knew.

Susaki was curious about this youkai. He really seemed friendly. 'I only Hana were here to support his claim,' he thought. "So where is Hana staying?"

Hi'Iki smiled. "Friends. A monk and his youkai slaying wife."

More surprises. This youkai was just full of surprises. "Is there anything else you can do that isn't expected?"

Hi'Iki smiled at Susaki. "I can send for Hana."

Susaki wasn't surprised this time. He put his sword away. "Very well, you are now our "guest". He nodded at the other villagers. They relaxed their guard. "So how will you send for Hana?"

Hi'Iki whistled and Kodo and Podo came, landing on his shoulders. He gave them an image of Hana walking into the village. "Now go get her." The two dragonets flew off. "It will take them a few days to fly there. And longer for Hana to get here."

Susaki didn't say anything. He just gestured for Hi'Iki to follow. They apparently had time for Hi'Iki to explain much.

By the end of summer, Crystal, the little white dragonet had doubled her size. She wasn't full grown but she was growing rapidly. She was also very popular. The children loved to play with her. She would hide things, then fetch them again when asked. The children turned this into a game.

The little dragonet took much of Hana's time. She needed training, feeding and bathing. Hana was kept busy by Crystal's antics. But Crystal reminded Hana of Kodo and Podo, as well as Hi'Iki. Hana was beginning to worry something happened to him. She was afraid he wasn't coming back.

As she watched Crystal play "fetch" with the children one cool morning, she came to the realization that Crystal was a lot like Hi'Iki. Charming and friendly. There was nothing evil about her. She didn't know if she was completely over her fear of dragons, but she knew she loved the little dragon. If she could have a charming dragonet as a companion, why not a youkai for a mate? The more she thought about it, the more she wished Hi'Iki would come back. She missed him.

On a chilly fall morning, Hana decided it was time for her to go home. Everything here reminded her of Hi'Iki and she felt she needed a change of scenery.

"Sango, I'm going back to my village. I need to let them know what happened."

Sango heard the sadness in her voice and knew she missed Hi'Iki. She gave Hana a hug. "Take care of yourself. You are always welcome here."

"Thanks. Tell everyone I said good-bye." Hana knew it would be too hard. Calling to Crystal, she waved at Sango and headed home.

The trip back to the village took less time than her trip out. She wasn't alone hunting dragons this time and had a companion on the journey to her village. Crystal's presence helped to keep her from getting lonely. Less than a day from home, while she and Crystal were resting, two dragonets burst in on them, chirping and twittering loudly and excitedly.

Crystal flew up, chirping with excitement, and greeted the other two. They flew in circles around each other happily.

Hana got up, checking out what all the commotion was. She was surprised to see the two little dragonets. They could only be Kodo and Podo. And Crystal was obviously their offspring. Gathering up her traveling pack, Hana called the Crystal. "Come on, we need to get home."

Kodo and Podo flew off, heading in the direction of the village. Crystal stayed with Hana as she hurried home.

When Hana walked into the village, it was eerily quiet. No one seemed to be around. The stillness frightened Hana, and she jumped when she heard the voice behind her.

"You're late," Susaki said when he saw Hana. He was grinning as he went to greet her and gave her a hug.

"Late for what? And where is everyone?" Hana had no idea what he was talking about.

"We moved the village several months ago, closer to the river."

Hana looked at her brother. What was going on? He was up to something, but she didn't know what. And she was concerned about Hi'Iki. She knew the two dragonets had been Kodo and Podo, so where was Hi'Iki?

"Why move the village?" She looked around. Everything did indeed look abandoned.

"We discussed it and felt it would be safer by the river. There's more protection there, and we don't have as far to go to get water." Susaki and the villagers had decided the move was in their best interest.

Hana wanted to ask about Hi'Iki but was afraid to. She hadn't seen Kodo or Podo since she got here, so wasn't sure if Hi'Iki was even around.

As they made their way to the new village, Susaki noticed the little dragon for the first time. "Where'd you get that?" He sounded a bit unhappy.

"Oh, she was given to me by a king. I couldn't very well refuse her." Well, it was the truth.

"A king? You met a king?" Susaki sounded astonished.

"Well yes. He asked for our help with the dragons."

"So you found them?" He put his arm around his sister, knowing how frightened she had been.

"Yes. We destroyed them too."

Susaki looked at his sister. He was proud of her. "I have to say, I'm proud of your accomplishments," he said as the reached the village.

Hana blushed at the compliment.

Crystal flew off Hana's shoulder, chirping. She then took off. 'I wonder what's gotten into her' Hana thought.

Several people were busy with chores and greeted them as they walked to the headman's house.

"So, what am I late for?" Hana asked, remembering that was the first thing Susaki had said.

"Your wedding my dear."

Hana spun at the sound of the laughing voice. She stared at him, not believing he was really there. "Hi'Iki?"

"The one and only." He walked over to her, and took both her hands in his. He held them gently and looked at Hana. "Have you thought about what I said?"

Hana saw the concern in his eyes, and the hope. It tugged at her heart. She had missed him. She knew now she wanted to be with him. "Yes, I have thought about it." She pulled her hands away from his. From the crestfallen look on his face, she knew he thought she was going to refuse him. But she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him. Surprised for a second, Hi'Iki quickly responded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. He returned her kiss, tenderly. He pulled back and looked at Hana, grinning. "I'll take that as a yes."

Hana leaned against him, resting her head on his chest. "I love you."

"I love you Hana, my little dragon slayer." He chuckled at the thought.

Hana looked up at him, smiling. "That is funny isn't it?" She looked around. Everyone had discretely left them alone. "How did you manage to convince everyone to accept you?"

"He nearly talked us to death." Susaki came back, grinning. "So is there to be a wedding here?"

"Yes!" Hi'Iki and Hana said in unison.

"How is it you accept Hi'Iki?" Hana asked of her brother.

"He spent a few days with us, talking. He told us everything. I guess we all came to the same conclusion you did."

"He isn't evil." Hana smiled at Hi'Iki.

The next couple of days were spent preparing for the traditional Japanese wedding. Hana was given a shiro-maku, the traditional white wedding kimono, and Hi'Iki was given the traditional men's black kimono. The ceremony was quiet, performed at the Shinto shrine at the edge of the village. Most of the village turned out to see the couple exchange vows. The reception afterwards was a bit livelier, with lots of sake being served.

The three little dragonets had watched from a perch in the trees. They had been very excited, but stayed quiet, as the ceremony was a solemn affair.

After everyone had congratulated the couple and went home, Hi'Iki, Susaki and Hana went back to Susaki's house. He had things to give Hana before the couple left for Hi'Iki's clan.

"I had these made for you." Susaki handed Hana a package. "Wait until you get there to open it." Then he turned to Hi'Iki. "Take good care of my sister."

"That is my priority." The two men clasped arms in friendship.

Hi'Iki looked at Hana. "The fastest way home is by flying. Can you manage?"

"Flying? As in dragon flying?" Hana's eyes were wide.

Hi'Iki nodded.

Hana squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I can do it."

Hi'Iki thought a moment. "It might be a good idea to have straps or a harness of some kind. And warm clothes."

"We can make something, but we'll need to know size." Susaki looked at Hi'Iki.

Hi'Iki nodded and looked at Hana. In a flash of blue light, Hi'Iki was replaced by the white dragon.

Hana stepped back, at first afraid. The large head came down; muzzle gently touching Hana's cheek. "I will not hurt you," the sibilant voice whispered. Hana reached up and stroked the muzzle. She was awed by the dragon, his beauty and size. He felt smooth and warm, not what she expected. "You're beautiful," she whispered back.

Susaki had gone and got some straps. Looking at Hi'Iki, he figured the best place for Hana to sit; on the shoulders, just in front of the wings. It wasn't easy attaching the straps to something so large, but he managed with some help. One strap had loops to hold the feet and one for Hana to hold onto with her hands. She was given warm clothing and covers for her hands, to help keep her warm. She had a pack on her back, carrying extras and the package Susaki gave her.

Susaki helped Hana up. "Have a safe trip." He slapped the dragon's side.

Hi'Iki waited for Susaki to get out of harm's way and then spread his wings. He leapt up and with one wing stroke, was air born.

Chirping and twittering, the three dragonets happily joined them in the air.

Hana gripped the strap with all her strength and kept her eyes closed. It was frightening to be soaring in the sky. When she realized she wasn't going to fall off, she opened her eyes for a quick look.

The sight was amazing. Wisps of clouds drifted past below them, more above them. They were following a river. She could see the silver thread of it below. On either side, it was all dark green, trees.

Wind blew past her face as the great wings beat slow, steady strokes taking them higher. Occasionally they just soared, allowing the wind to carry them in the direction they needed to go.

The tiny silver thread of a river eventually ran into the ocean. There, Hi'Iki turned northeast and followed the coast. He flew tirelessly for several hours, occasionally glancing back to see how Hana was doing. Every now and then, he would make course corrections, still heading basically north.

Hana was now enjoying the view. She would lean one way, then the other, trying to see everything. The land and sea seemed to flow by slowly from so high up. It was a magnificent sight.

Hi'Iki flew over a stretch of water, then land. Here, he started a slow downward spiral; being extra careful not to dislodge Hana.

Hana again tightly gripped the straps. It was a little dizzying going down, watching the land come into focus. The closer they got to the ground, the more details Hana could see. She first made out the mountains, then the cliffs and trees, then a beach and a cove. Hi'Iki was headed for that cove. Hana could see there was a village in the grassy meadow that was backed by the cliffs. It was a beautiful sight. She noted several people standing on the beach.

Hi'Iki came down slowly, back winging as he landed gently on the sand of the beach.

The people on the beach waved and called to Hi'Iki, welcoming him home.

Hana sat for a few moments, unsure what to do at first. She realized she needed to undo the straps before Hi'Iki could change back to human form. Hi'Iki stood still until Hana undid the straps, then he lowered himself to the ground so she could slide off. She backed up a little to give him room to transform.

"Hi'Iki!"

"You're back, Hi'Iki!"

"Nice to see you back in one piece."

"About time you came back."

Everyone crowded around and spoke at once.

"Give them space," a deep voice demanded.

Everyone backed up so Hana could see a tall man approach. This was Hi'Iki's uncle. There was no mistaking the resemblance.

"So my wayward nephew, you are back at last."

Hi'Iki grinned. "Sorry I'm late. This is my mate, Hana."

Hi'Iki's uncle looked at Hana. "I am Hishiro." He took Hana's hands. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Hana."

The others also greeted Hana. Hana had been worried about this meeting, but like Hi'Iki, these people were friendly and quickly accepted Hana as part of the family.

"So, what trouble did you get yourself into?" Hishiro asked, knowing his nephew.

"Trouble? Me?" Hi'Iki looked innocent. "I just went to visit Sesshoumaru, that's all."

"Tell us about it over dinner." Hishiro knew better than to believe Hi'Iki went for "just a visit".

So during the evening meal Hi'Iki and Hana recounted what had happened.

There were exclamations at the dragon attacks, and cheering when the battle was over. The White Dragon Clan could now live in peace.

"Leave it to Hi'Iki to pick a youkai slayer as his mate." Hishiro shook his head. "We're glad you are here, Hana. I hope you'll like it here." He smiled at Hana.

"I know I will." Hana looked at Hi'Iki and smiled. He smiled back and kissed her.

Notes:

From what information I could gather, Ashita is the Monk responsible for reintroducing Buddhism into Tibet. I changed the name to Ashta for the story.

Shiro-maku or shiromuku, I also saw it spelled that way, means pure white.

I am using my Dragonology and Pern books as a sort of guide for the dragons. Kodo and Podo were inspired by the little ferrets in "The Beastmaster" movie and with the fire-lizards in the Pern books.


	10. Chapter 10 One Year Later

Sorry it's taken so long to write this, the final chapter. It's a long one. I had a hard time with certain parts. And as the warning below says, there are lemons in this chapter. I posted a warning before the sections that have it. I have never written about lemons before, so I apologize if they aren't great. However, I did want to leave some things to the imagination.

Beware of lemons!

Chapter 10 It Takes Two

Rin and Jaken were arguing about whether or not Sesshoumaru planned to build an empire. The summer sun shown brightly down on the garden where Rin and Jaken argued.

"Yes! And I'm to have an important role in it!"

"I really don't think he's interested in an empire." Rin insisted. She was sitting on the stone bench in the garden with Jaken. The bench was kept cool in the summer by the shade of the sakura tree.

"What empire?"

They both looked up at Sesshoumaru.

"The empire you plan on building," Jaken said hopefully. The look on Sesshoumaru's face said it all. "You don't plan on building an empire?" Jaken asked slowly.

"What would I want with an empire?"

Jaken lowered his head and sighed. His great plans were dashed.

"It's okay Jaken. You have us." Rin gave him a hug.

"Ack!" He waved his arms around and wiggled out of the hug. Jaken quickly got away, so he didn't have to endure another hug.

Sesshoumaru took the place Jaken just vacated. "I don't know where he got that idea from." He looked around him. Then at Rin. "This is all the empire I need." Rin had been right about one thing Sesshoumaru realized. He knew little about the people he lived with.

"You need to interact with those you live with to get to know them," she had said at the beginning of summer.

During the rest of summer and through the fall, Sesshoumaru learned a lot about Rin. The same held true for Rin. They learned what each other liked; what they didn't like. They learned what made them happy; what made them sad, or mad.

One thing about Sesshoumaru Rin knew would not change much: expressing his feelings. He had a hard time with that. She had been surprised to learn that he felt comfortable enough with her to be more candid when they were alone.

'Now if he could just learn to smile and have fun.' Rin's biggest goal was for Sesshoumaru to learn to have fun.

Winter was cold and snowy up in the little valley. Rin spent most of her days inside, trying to keep busy with reading; Daira teaching her about medicinal herbs and how to use them. But one morning, Rin was in the mood for some fun. She wanted to play in the snow. She put on all her warmest clothes and the soft fur lined boots and gloves Kagome had given her.

She went outside. The air was cold but the sun sparkled brightly off the glistening white snow. The steps were covered in the white stuff, so Rin walked carefully down them. She plowed her way over to the side by the garden. Her real aim this morning was to try and teach Sesshoumaru how to have fun. She knew he was capable of it. He found things amusing, though he never laughed or smiled.

Rin flopped down in the snow, spreading her legs and arms. 'Now what did Kagome say?' she thought to herself. 'Oh yes.' She moved her arms in an up and down motion and legs back and forth. She did this several times then carefully stood up. She giggled at what she had made. Kagome had called it a "Snow Angel". It did look like a person.

Hirameki joined her as she played. She threw snowballs and he chased them. She laughed at his antics. He would try and pounce on them when they landed in the snow, only to be covered by the deep snow drifts. He leapt up in the air trying to knock them down, only to be showered by snow. He would shake himself off and look confused.

Sesshoumaru heard Rin's laugh and went to see what she found so funny. He liked hearing her laugh. It was one of those things he liked about her. It was a soft musical laugh. Following the sound of her laughter, he found her by the garden, playing with Hirameki.

Rin saw Sesshoumaru watching her. She had a snowball and threw it. It hit Sesshoumaru squarely in the chest. Rin put her hand over her mouth, covering her laugh.

"What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru could see from her face she was trying not to laugh.

"It's a snowball fight." She was grinning.

"You can't fight someone with snow." 'What is she up to?' he thought to himself.

"It's for fun."

"Fun?"

"Yes, fun. You try to hit your opponent while trying to avoid being hit by him." Rin saw the blank look on Sesshoumaru's face. 'He didn't get it' she thought. She sighed. "Never mind." Rin turned to play with Hirameki again. She made another snowball and as she got ready to throw it, she was surprised to feel a snowball hit her in the back. She turned and looked at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru stared back, eyebrows raised. He did in fact "get it". He understood the concept of fun; doing something for the sole purpose of enjoyment. Everything he did, he had a goal or purpose in mind for it. He didn't do anything for the sole enjoyment of it. In this case, he had a goal; Rin's happiness. He liked hearing her laugh. So if a snowball fight would make her happy, a snowball fight she would get. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly at the surprised look on her face.

The snowball fight that ensued lasted nearly an hour. Sesshoumaru's aim was accurate, but Rin was agile and often avoided getting hit. Sesshoumaru's speed allowed him to avoid getting hit most of the time. Rin's laughter assured Sesshoumaru he had reached his goal.

Jaken came out to see what all the ruckus was about and was rewarded with two perfectly timed and aimed snowballs to the face. He fell over backward in the snow, screeching. Jumping up, he ran back into the castle, laughter following him. He went to sulk in his room. It was the last straw. Between the way Sesshoumaru and Rin were acting, it was enough to give Jaken nightmares. He decided to visit his family.

"We should go in and get you warmed up," Sesshoumaru finally said, noticing Rin was shivering slightly.

Daira came out just as they walked up the steps. "What have you two been…" the evidence was all over their clothes, in the melting bits of snow. Daira could tell from Rin's face she had had a great time. And Sesshoumaru looked amused? Daira looked again. Yes, for the first time, Sesshoumaru had actually enjoyed himself. Daira was pleased. Sesshoumaru had changed since she first met him. It was all due to Rin's influence. She followed them inside and went to get the hot tea she had ready for them.

Rin went to the firepit and took off her wet outer clothing and sat by the fire. Sesshoumaru had been right. She was cold. She looked up as a blanket was wrapped around her. It was Sesshoumaru.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama."

He sat next to her as Daira served the tea. They sipped their tea for a moment then Rin spoke. "Did you have fun?"

"I enjoyed myself." He said slowly. This was a new feeling for him. He looked at Rin. "Is it important to you that I learn to have fun?"

Rin nodded. She reached out and took his hand, gently holding it. "I care about you and want you to be happy."

Her statement touched his heart. It never occurred to him that someone might care about him. No one had ever openly said they cared about him. Hi'Iki was the only other person he knew that cared. He wasn't sure if his own mother cared that much. "You make me happy, Rin." Rin snuggled against him, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the company beside her. Feeling all warm and cozy, Rin fell asleep.

Sesshoumaru gently picked Rin up and carried her to her room. He put her on her sleeping mat and covered her with the blanket she had been wrapped in. He was going to leave but instead sat down next to Rin. He didn't want to leave her just yet. He picked up one of the books Kagome had given Rin. It was called "World History". He paged through it. Some of the things he read gave him insights into human behavior and some disturbing things to contemplate about the future.

Warning: BEWARE OF LEMONS

The day started out innocently enough. It was late in spring, a warm sunny day; Rin went out for a hike. The snow was all gone, there were new leaves on the trees, flowers were blooming and birds were busy with building their nests.

Rin wanted to find some more of the herbs that Daira had mentioned grew higher up on the mountain. She saw the little meadow and headed for it. She forgot Daira's warning of the crevasse and didn't see it. She fell in.

"Baka!" she told herself. She looked herself over. She had some scrapes that would heal in a few minutes, thanks to Sesshoumaru's blood. She looked up. The crevasse was narrow and just deep enough. She could stand sideways and easily touch both sides. The sides were smooth, with nothing for her to grab onto to climb up. The top was out of her reach. She jumped. She still couldn't reach. She tried several more times. It was still just out of reach.

'I could call for Sesshoumaru-sama' she thought. But she didn't want to have to count on Sesshoumaru to always rescue her. She doubled her efforts but to no avail. She simply couldn't reach the top and there was nothing for her to hold on to.

"Rin!"

Rin looked up. Sesshoumaru was peering down at her, a worried look on his face.

"I'm okay. I just can't reach." She was embarrassed by her predicament. She should have known to watch her step. And now Sesshoumaru had to rescue her once again.

Sesshoumaru reached down with his hand. "Grab my hand." He was laying prone on the ground for better leverage. Rin jumped and grabbed hold of his hand and he pulled her up, rising to his knees as he did so. She wasn't heavy and came up faster than he anticipated. They tumbled backwards, Rin ending up on top of him.

They stared at each other for a few minutes.

Rin's thoughts made her blush as she stared at the face so close to hers. She moved to get off, but Sesshoumaru held her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Rin's blush got brighter. "I, um, ah I'm," she stammered. Instead of answering, Rin dared to kiss him, a quick sweet kiss on the lips. She pulled back, surprised at her boldness.

Her boldness had surprised Sesshoumaru as well. The kiss had surprised him more though. He hadn't expected the reaction to it that he had. He reached up and pulled her head back down for another kiss. This time it was longer, deeper. Rin's lips were soft and tasted like berries and spices. He enjoyed the taste.

When Rin pulled back, her face was flushed. Kissing Sesshoumaru had been a fantasy of hers for a few years. The real thing was better than any fantasy she could come up with.

Sesshoumaru felt the first stirrings of desire and was about to squash them. But stopped himself. Perhaps this is what Rin wanted. He understood the mating process, and could smell Rin's desire. It encouraged his own desire, so he let it grow.

Rin felt the hardness beneath her. It pressed up against her invitingly. She rubbed against the hardness, moving her hips back and forth. It felt good; to both of them. Sesshoumaru watched her as she moved. Her eyes were closed and she started moaning a little as she moved faster against him. She let out a gasp and collapsed on top of him, breathing hard. Once she got her breathing under control, she rolled off Sesshoumaru. This time he let her go. She lay on the ground next to him, wondering what she had started.

Rin's rubbing had caused a slight problem. Sesshoumaru now had a need of his own to take care of. He turned on his side, reached over and gently stroked Rin's hair. He touched her cheek and face. At first he wasn't sure of how to proceed; his stroking was a bit awkward. Rin helped him by putting his hands where she wanted to be touched. His hands slipped under her kimono. He paused, looking at Rin. She encouraged him. His hands explored her entire body. Rin moaned as his hands drifted gently over her skin. His touch sent shivers through her entire body.

Rin's hands found their way under Sesshoumaru's clothes. She ran her hands across his chest, arms, back and down his stomach. She gently grabbed the hardness she felt and gave it a gentle rub.

Sesshoumaru gasped at the feel. His hips thrust forward of their own accord. The feel of his penis rubbing against her hand was an amazing sensation, making him moan with pleasure.

"Rin."

Rin head the desire in his voice. It matched her own desire. She had often wondered what it would be like to have Sesshoumaru make love to her. She was about to find out. "I need you Sesshoumaru-sama."

They undressed each other, touching as they went. They were a bit clumsy and awkward at first. They spent more time exploring each others' bodies, until their touches became more confident.

Sesshoumaru moved so he was now on top of her. Rin moaned as his erection pressed against her, between her legs. Sesshoumaru immediately backed up. "Am I too heavy?"

Rin shook her head. "You feel good." She pulled him back down.

Gently, slowly, Sesshoumaru eased himself forward, pushing against her.

Rin gasped when she felt him enter. She whimpered a little at the uncomfortable feel. Sesshoumaru stopped and pulled back. "Am I hurting you?"

"No. It's just a little uncomfortable." Rin smiled at him when he hesitated. "It's okay. It's supposed to be uncomfortable at first."

Sesshoumaru looked doubtful. As needful as he was, he wasn't about to hurt her in any way. Carefully he started again. Rin gasped again when he entered, but didn't whimper this time. Encouraged, Sesshoumaru pushed himself in deeper, until he could go no further. He pulled out and pushed in, a little faster this time. Rin encouraged him to go faster. Sesshoumaru went faster until Rin started thrusting her hips up to match his thrusts. They soon had a perfect rhythm going that pleased them both. Soft growls of pleasure were mingled with soft moans.

Rin held tightly onto Sesshoumaru as a wave of pleasure washed through her. She thrust her hips up, legs wrapping tightly around Sesshoumaru's waist. She called out his name as he thrust one last time, waves of pleasure bursting through both of them. Sesshoumaru softly called Rin's name as his seed flowed into her. They both collapsed, exhausted, panting and feeling wonderful. They rested for several minutes without saying anything.

Sesshoumaru was surprised. The experience was like nothing he'd ever had before. Nothing had ever felt so good. He looked over at Rin.

"You're crying. Did I hurt you?" Sesshoumaru was concerned as he gently wiped away her tears. He had hoped she felt the same way.

"No. I'm crying because I've never felt so good before." She reached up and gently touched his face. "I love you Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru pulled Rin closer and held her tightly. "My Little Rin," he whispered softly in her ear.

They stayed that way for a while. Rin's leg holding Sesshoumaru so he couldn't pull himself out. Rin liked the feel of him inside her, and wanted to stay that way for a while longer. Sesshoumaru willingly obliged her. They lay there, enjoying this special moment together.

"We'd better get back before Jaken comes looking for us." Sesshoumaru pulled away from Rin. The thought of Jaken finding them in such a position made Rin get up in a hurry. She quickly got dressed.

"Why the hurry?" Sesshoumaru paused to watch Rin.

"The thought of Jaken seeing us…" she couldn't finish the thought, she started to giggle. Sesshoumaru finished dressing.

As they headed home, Rin found walking was somewhat painful. She walked slowly and gingerly.

"I did hurt you."

"It's not that. My muscles just aren't used to being used in that fashion."

Sesshoumaru picked Rin up, looking doubtful.

"You didn't hurt me." Rin smiled at him. "We'll just have to work those muscles more."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Did you enjoy it then?"

"Very much. Did you?"

The corners of Sesshoumaru's mouth turned up. "Yes, it was very pleasurable."

"So you'll help me work those muscles?" She grinned.

"It will be," he paused, "my pleasure."

Rin looked at him in surprise. His face had his usual stoic look, except for the amusement dancing in his eyes. Surprise turned to delight. She couldn't help herself, Rin kissed him, a soft gentle kiss. "I love you Sesshoumaru-sama." She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder.

End of lemon

"I'm capable of walking." Rin didn't want Sesshoumaru to have to carry her all the way back. "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"I noticed." He looked at her and she blushed.

"I don't want to be a burden or a bother to you."

Sesshoumaru stopped walking and put her down. He lifted her chin up and looked her squarely in the eyes. "You will never ever be a burden or a bother to me. You are my mate. I love you," he said very softly. He picked her back up and headed into the valley.

Daira saw them coming and ran to meet them. "Rin?"

"She can't walk." Sesshoumaru had stopped when he saw Daira.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, really Daira. Just some sore muscles." Rin couldn't help the giggle that escaped.

"Put her down, let me see."

Sesshoumaru gently put Rin down. Rin walked somewhat gingerly still, but not as bad as before.

Daira recognized that walk. She looked from Rin to Sesshoumaru. Taking charge, she took Rin by the arm and said to Sesshoumaru, "You go home and take care of yourself. I'll see to Rin."

When Sesshoumaru paused, she waved her arms at him. "Shoo, shoo. Come Rin. I know just what you need." She stopped long enough to get a few things; then took Rin to the hot spring. She didn't say anything until Rin had eased herself into the shallow end of the pool.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No. We…" she saw that Daira knew what they did. "He was very gentle and careful." Rin was smiling and blushing at the memory.

Daira nodded. She thought as much. She went and got some herbs. She returned and put them in the cup she had brought with her. She added water from the hot spring and let it steep. Then she handed it to Rin. "Here, drink this. It will help relax those muscles."

Rin gratefully drank the tea. "I had always hoped he fall in love with me but I never really expected it to happen. Sometimes I think this is all a dream and I'll wake up to find he's not in love with me. How did I get so lucky Daira?"

"You helped him when he needed it most. You sent him on the right path to his full potential."

"What do mean?"

"When I first saw him, he was full of anger and hate; on a quest for power. I saw past that, to a kind heart."

Rin nodded. She had also seen the kindness there.

"To achieve his full potential, his full power, he needed to be compassionate, to care. You taught him that. You also taught him how to love. That is your greatest gift to him. I believe you claimed his heart from the moment you met him." Daira smiled at Rin.

"But I was just a child!"

"Yes. And he a stubborn hate filled youkai. Because of you, he has grown into a remarkable adult."

"You care about him too, don't you?"

Daira nodded. "These last few years he's become like the son I never had." She smiled at Rin. "I'm happy for both of you."

Sesshoumaru sat on the porch. He knew Daira would take care of Rin. He thought about the morning. It had unexpected results. He thought about what Rin had said, and how she felt. He had liked the feeling, it was almost intoxicating. But even more, he had made Rin feel good. That was important to him. But what touched him most was her reaction to his showing a little sense of humor. She had been delighted.

He didn't know how long he sat there when he saw them come back from the hot spring. Rin was walking normally now, much to his relief.

Rin saw the look on his face and smiled as she sat next to him. Daira continued on into the castle. She touched Sesshoumaru on the shoulder as she passed and said quietly, "I'm proud of you Sesshoumaru."

Startled, Sesshoumaru turned to look at her but she was already going in the door. He turned and looked at Rin. "What did she mean by that?"

Rin smiled. "She's proud of how you turned out. You're like a son to her."

'This day is just full of surprises.' Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He didn't quite understand why, the more he became like his father, the more this odd little group of people cared about him. It had an odd effect on him; it made him feel good about himself.

The next couple of days Rin got pampered. She didn't want to be pampered. She wanted Sesshoumaru. Sometimes when he looked at her she saw the hunger and desire in his eyes, but he refused to touch her.

"He won't touch me anymore," she complained to Daira. It was late; Rin was in her room, drinking tea Daira had given her to help her relax.

"He has more sense than you. He's letting you heal."

"But he didn't hurt me!"

"No. But when a girl has her first experience, it does do damage, no matter how careful you are."

Rin sighed. "Oh." She gave the cup back to Daira, empty. She lay down, covering herself with the blanket. Daira left.

Rin woke early the next morning. She stretched, only to bump into something. Startled, she turned to see what was there. Sesshoumaru was looking back at her.

"What…"

"You needed me, so I stayed with you." At her puzzled look he added "You called out my name in your sleep."

Sesshoumaru got up, pulling her up with him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine! I wish everyone would stop pampering me! I just want you." She wrapped her arms around him and held him.

Sesshoumaru pulled her closer and held her tightly. Then he gently pushed her back. Lifting up her chin, he said, "There's no hurry. We can take it slow and careful."

She nodded.

Spring had just turned to summer. The early morning sun shown down on Rin as she tended her garden. She had spent more time with Sesshoumaru lately and had neglected her garden. Daira had done some tending to the garden, so it wasn't a complete mess.

The sound of flapping wings made her look up. The morning sun was in her eyes and she could only just make out the shape of a large dragon doing aerial maneuvers. It could only be Hi'Iki. The dragon swooped low, chased by two, no three, smaller dragons. Rin ducked as the dragon flew over her. She thought she heard laughter. The dragon turned and then landed in the grass. Rin could make out a small figure sitting on the neck of the dragon. She went to greet them.

Hana slid off the neck, dropping to the ground.

"I'm glad to see you're with Hi'Iki," Rin said as they gave each other hugs.

"Yes, certain critters," she looked at the three dragonets as they flew about, "were determined to bring us together."

"It wasn't my idea," Hi'Iki said, shaking the riding straps off. He joined the two women. "It was their idea. I'm glad they did though." He smiled at Hana. "So Rin how's Sesshoumaru?"

Rin blushed. "He went out somewhere but he wouldn't say where he was going."

"While you all wait for him, come in and have some tea." Daira was standing on the porch. She had also heard the wings and came out to see who had arrived.

Daira served the tea, which everyone took outside to enjoy the sunshine. While waiting for Sesshoumaru to get back, Rin and Hana talked about the garden. Hi'Iki listened to them talk, wondering about Sesshoumaru. He was curious to see just how much Sesshoumaru had changed.

When Sesshoumaru finally arrived, Hi'Iki noticed a difference. It wasn't something easy to see; just a subtle difference in attitude. Hi'Iki had been expecting such a difference and was able to see it: Sesshoumaru's acceptance of himself, his power and abilities, of Rin and most importantly, his love for Rin. Without realizing it, he was now the most powerful youkai in Japan.

Sesshoumaru joined them on the porch. He went to stand by Rin, giving her back a gentle caress. He nodded to Daira as she gave him a cup of tea.

Hana asked Rin to show her the garden, and they left the men standing on the porch.

"I have a message for you," Sesshoumaru told Hi'Iki. "The Dragon King wants you to visit before you leave."

Hi'Iki grinned. "I made a promise to visit, and I'll keep it." He had been surprised at Sesshoumaru's open display of affection. It was more proof of Sesshoumaru's acceptance of the changes in his life.

Hana had also seen Sesshoumaru's show of affection and wanted to ask Rin about it. Rin was showing Hana the herb section of the garden.

"Are you and Sesshoumaru mated?"

Rin blushed. "Yes. Didn't Hi'Iki-sama say anything?"

Hana shook her head. "No. And he knew about it?"

Rin nodded and told Hana what had happened.

"It doesn't surprise me that Hi'Iki didn't tell me." She turned and looked at the men on the porch. They were talking about something. "He respects Sesshoumaru a great deal."

"I think Hi'Iki-sama is the only person Sesshoumaru-sama trusts enough to call friend."

"I'm glad for both of you," Hana told Rin. "Here, let me help you pick some of those herbs." The two women picked enough for the evening meal.

"So has Rin taught you to have fun yet?" Hi'Iki looked at Sesshoumaru out of the corner of his eye.

"Fun?" Sesshoumaru's tone sounded bored.

Hi'Iki grinned. 'Good for you Rin!' he thought. "Yeah, fun. You know just do something because you enjoy it."

"I know what fun is. It's important to Rin."

"You know being in love and having fun doesn't make you weak. It makes you stronger." Hi'Iki looked out at Hana.

"So I've learned."

"Hana wants to go see Sango." Hi'Iki thought a change of subject was a good idea. As much as Sesshoumaru had changed, he still wasn't the most talkative person and getting him to talk about his feelings was almost as hard as pulling a tooth out of mad dragon.

"I'd like to go with Hana to see Kagome." Rin and Hana had finished picking herbs and came back. "Hana told me they were going."

Sesshoumaru nodded at Rin. He couldn't say no to Rin unless it risked her safety.

It was settled, they would leave the next morning.

They spent the rest of the day finding out how they had spent the last year. Hana and Rin did most of the talking. Hi'Iki and Sesshoumaru preferred to listen, adding comments only when they felt it necessary.

Daira made dinner, humming to herself. Using the herbs Rin and Hana had picked, Daira created a meal that sent mouth watering smells drifting outdoors to the two couples. Dinner tasted as good as it smelled. Rin and Hana went to bed early as they planned on leaving early. Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki stayed up a little longer.

"Any regrets?" Hi'Iki asked.

"No."

Hi'Iki smiled to himself.

Originally they were going to walk to the village, until Hi'Iki asked Rin if she'd like to ride a dragon. So, leaving later than they had planned, they flew.

Hi'Iki landed among a group of children playing, which sent the children scattering. After seeing the riders slide off, they came back to get a closer look at the big white dragon. They'd never seen one up close. Laughing, the children dared each other to pet the dragon. Hi'Iki waited a moment, then lowered his head and blew smoke at them. The children laughed and ran back a little. They went back, daring someone else to pet the dragon. It became a game. Hana and Rin laughed, watching the children have fun with Hi'Iki.

Sesshoumaru watched Rin. He could see she enjoyed the antics of the children. He watched the children play for a moment. Four were human, Miroku and Sango's offspring. The youngest, a toddler with white hair and puppy ears was InuYasha and Kagome's. Sesshoumaru knew that Rin loved children and eventually wanted some.

Hi'Iki finally changed form. It was difficult holding his tail up so he didn't burn anything. The children chatted with Hi'Iki for a few minutes before running off. Except the youngest. He stood in front of Sesshoumaru and looked at up at him. "Oji-san, up". He reached up with his arms.

Sesshoumaru looked at the youngster for a moment. He picked the toddler up. They stared at each other for a moment and then the toddler smiled at Sesshoumaru. Without a word, Sesshoumaru carried the toddler back to the village. He glanced at Rin as they walked. The way she was smiling told him more than any words could.

"Down, down." The toddler wriggled in Sesshoumaru's arms. Sesshoumaru put the toddler down. He ran into the village, having seen his father.

"Come on Oji-san." Hi'Iki grinned as he walked past Sesshoumaru.

"….." was the response.

InuYasha saw the group and called Kagome. Kagome was with Sango and they both came from Sango's where they had been washing clothes. Miroku was hanging the clean clothes up to dry and followed them.

"Hi'Iki, Hana, what a welcome surprise!" The two women gave Hana a hug. "I see you two did get together," Sango said approvingly.

"You'd be surprised how he managed it too." Hana laughed, looking at her mate.

"Hey, it wasn't all my idea!"

"Do tell." Miroku said interested in what Hi'Iki had done. He noticed the closeness between Rin and Sesshoumaru and wondered about them.

"Over lunch, the children are hungry," Sango said.

After everyone was sitting, and served a light lunch, Sango asked, "So how did you two get together?"

Between Hi'Iki and Hana, they told how it happened.

"You let yourself be held captive?" InuYasha was amazed. He would never have done such a thing. "What if they didn't accept what you told them?"

"I would have left."

InuYasha just shook his head.

Miroku wanted to satisfy his curiosity about Rin and Sesshoumaru so asked Rin "Are you ever planning on finding a husband and settling down?".

"Miroku!" Sango scolded him for asking such a question.

Rin blushed and said "I have a mate already," looking at Sesshoumaru, who was not sitting with the group.

Kagome and Sango look at Rin, surprised. "You and Sesshoumaru?"

Rin smiled and nodded.

InuYasha griped, "Keh! Sesshoumaru isn't capable of such an emotion!" Sesshoumaru, who appeared to be ignoring the conversation, was in fact listening carefully. As the debate continued, a quiet voice spoke up.

"Rin is my mate." Sesshoumaru stood behind her. He was watching InuYasha.

Everyone got quiet.

InuYasha was dumbfounded. He stared at Sesshoumaru, speechless.

Kagome and Sango looked at Sesshoumaru, surprised. The only one not surprised was Miroku. It was as he suspected.

Sesshoumaru sat down by Rin, staring at InuYasha as if daring him to deny what he just heard.

It was a tense moment as the brothers stared at each other. Everyone wondered if they'd end up fighting.

InuYasha stared hard at Sesshoumaru. There was a flicker of emotion in Sesshoumaru's eyes that InuYasha could have sworn was amusement. InuYasha sat back and relaxed. They had reached a silent understanding. Acceptance. Neither would ever admit to liking the other, yet if they ever needed the other's help for anything, they would get it.

"They do make a nice couple, don't they?" Hi'Iki said to break the tension. He grinned at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru glared back.

"See?" Miroku said to Sango. "Anything's possible."

With the tension gone, Rin and Sesshoumaru were congratulated. It was obvious to everyone that Rin was quite happy with Sesshoumaru, although no one could quite understand why.

After everyone was done eating, they sat and relaxed, enjoying the sunny afternoon. They watched the children play with the three dragonets. They played 'catch the dragonet'. The dragonets would sit on the ground, ignoring the children. The children would sneak up and try to catch one. The dragonets would all squawk and fly up out of reach. When the dragonets got tired of the game, they flew off.

While the children played, the adults played "catch-up", discussing what they had done in the last year. The women did most of the talking. The men added comments only when necessary.

After a few more minutes of talking, Hi'Iki said they had to go.

"We have a friend to visit before we go home."

Sango and Kagome gave Hana hugs. "Don't be a stranger."

Hana smiled. "We won't."

"Rin, you and Sesshoumaru are welcome anytime. Don't stay away so long."

Hi'Iki and Sesshoumaru had moved away from the group. Rin and Hana joined them. 'We will come by more often," Rin said.

The group decided to walk back. Hi'Iki and Sesshoumaru in front, the women in back. Hana and Rin chatted about different things.

Sesshoumaru mentioned to Hi'Iki what he learned from the book Kagome brought back from the future and what possibilities the future holds for youkai. They discussed possibilities on how to deal with the changes of the future.

"So we are no more than legend in the future?"

"From what I read, yes. Which means youkai are either completely exterminated or have adapted to pass as human."

"So those that weren't exterminated adapted and learned to live among humans." Rin said thoughtfully. She thought a moment. "In order to protect youkai from such extermination, maybe a powerful youkai should keep humans safe from youkai?"

Sesshoumaru and Hi'Iki stopped to look at Rin. They looked at each other.

"So you're saying to protect ourselves, we should protect humans?" Hi'Iki asked.

"Makes sense." Hana said. "If humans don't see youkai as a threat…"

"They'll forget about us and leave us alone," Sesshoumaru finished. He was already protecting Rin by chasing off or exterminating any youkai in his territory who didn't abide by his rules.

"It would take some talking and convincing, but it might work." Hi'Iki looked at Sesshoumaru. "We should mention it to those we know first and see how they react."

The others agreed that would be a good idea.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. When they reached the valley, Hi'Iki and Hana said their good-byes and headed off to see the Dragon King.

Sesshoumaru and Rin headed for the castle.

Daira was just leaving. "Oh good you're back. I'm going to the village to get some supplies and ideas from Kagome. I told everyone to take a few days off and Jaken hasn't come back yet from his visit." She walked past them. "Enjoy yourselves."

Sesshoumaru and Rin stared at her retreating back. They looked at each other. They had the place all to themselves.

Beware of lemons

Sesshoumaru suddenly knew exactly what he wanted. "Rin?" He looked at her with desire in his eyes.

Rin looked up at him and smiled. The desire in her eyes matched his.

Sesshoumaru gently lifted up Rin's face and kissed her. Rin wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. When they pulled apart, gold eyes locked with brown.

"Yes." Rin said softly.

Sesshoumaru took her hand and led her inside to their room. He took his armor off and put it aside. Rin lay down and stretched out on the matt. She turned over on her side and watched him. He walked over to her lay down next to her. They held each other for a while, simply enjoying the closeness.

Rin pulled back a little and gently touched Sesshoumaru's face. She traced the stripes on his cheeks, the crescent moon on his forehead and ran her fingers through his soft silky hair.

Sesshoumaru stroked Rin's hair. He liked the feel and smell of her silky strands. They smelled like flowers and berries. He ran his fingers through her hair, along the curve of her face, along the jaw line and gently over her lips. He gently brushed her lips with his fingers, then with his lips. They kissed, gently at fist, but it soon became more demanding. The kisses began to explore, finding other exposed areas of skin to taste.

Gently, with more confidence than the first time, touching and stroking was added to the kissing. Sesshoumaru's hands drifted gently over Rin's exposed skin, causing her to moan with pleasure. He slowly opened her kimono, exposing more skin to his gentle ministrations. Rin moaned. She reached under his yukata, running her hands across his chest, shoulders and arms. Soft growls of pleasure emanated from his throat as her hands explored him.

They took their time, slowly exposing more skin. Sesshoumaru was attuned to Rin's responses to his touches. Even the slightest show of discomfort stopped him immediately. He discovered Rin's breasts were sensitive pleasure centers and spent several minutes making Rin moan and squirm under his caressing.

The kissing and caressing continued as the clothes slowly came off. The only sounds were Rin's soft moans as she responded to Sesshoumaru's explorations.

Sesshoumaru kneeled between Rin's legs and stroked her now exposed thighs, going higher until he was gently rubbing the sensitive spot. Rin gasped as he rubbed harder, and she thrust her hips up for more. She softly spoke his name, encouraging him. He continued to rub until she couldn't take it any more.

"Sesshoumaru, I need," she managed to gasp out.

Sesshoumaru's own needs were as great as hers. He gently kissed his way from below her belly button back up to her breasts, until he was lying on top of her. His erection was pressing against her sensitive spot.

Rin opened her legs wider, wrapping them around Sesshoumaru's waist. She lifted her hips, whispering, "Sesshoumaru, I need you."

Sesshoumaru complied, gently thrusting in, going slowly at first, then faster until they found their perfect rhythm.

Rin grabbed Sesshoumaru's back, digging in with her fingers as she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. Gasping and moaning, she managed to call out his name as a wave pleasure burst through her.

Sesshoumaru thrust a few more times, his soft growls mixing with Rin's moans. His last thrust sent waves of pleasure exploding through both of them. He growled her name as his seed flowed into her.

They both collapsed, exhausted. Sesshoumaru rolled off Rin, turning on his side. He pulled himself out of Rin and held her close. "My Little Rin," he whispered softly, nuzzling her hair.

"I love you Sesshoumaru," Rin whispered. They were both content to just lie there, enjoying each other.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked quietly as they lay together.

"Hmm?"

"What did you think of your nephew?"

Sesshoumaru thought about the toddler. "He seemed to like me." He pulled Rin closer to him. He understood why she was asking. He hadn't been bothered by the toddler or InuYasha for that matter. "We will have our own offspring."

Rin looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. In a few years. Right now I want you to myself."

Rin put her head on his chest, wrapped one arm around him, snuggling as close as she could get. "Thank you," she whispered softly. She fell asleep thinking he'd make a good father.

Sesshoumaru lay quietly holding Rin and thinking. He thought of what the oracle had said concerning his greatest treasure. Rin. She was his greatest treasure. Without her, he would never have found his true self. His anger and hatred would have taken him down the path of destruction, becoming like Naraku. He shuddered at the thought. It was not in his nature to be evil. The oracle had been right about Tenseiga as well. Tenseiga had been the beginning and the end. It had put him where Rin would find him, when he needed her most, and had helped him make the right choice a year ago. By "losing" the battle, he won the treasure. He thought about his father. He could now understand why his father made the choices he had. He was getting drowsy and as his eyes drifted shut; his last thought was that being like his father wasn't so bad after all.

Notes:

I suspect both InuYasha and Sesshoumaru have a sense of humor, but have never had the reason to develop it. I also think everyone has come to the conclusion that Sesshoumaru has abandoned his quest to kill InuYasha, and view him as the unsocial member of the family.

I'm basing Sesshoumaru's power on what Kaede said about InuYasha. Having someone to protect makes them more powerful.

Baka means fool, idiot, stupid, along those lines.

Oji is uncle.

Legends usually have some sort of truth to them. In our current time, science has claimed such legends don't exist. Some legends have turned out to be true. The Mountain Gorilla, the Okapi. If you were a youkai in our present time, would you want your presence known to humans?


End file.
